All That You Are
by shannyfish
Summary: The future is dark, grim, and in ruin. Felicity is trying to find a glimmer of hope in it all in order to keep going. To believe that everything is not lost and that all of their suffering wasn't for nothing.
1. Prologue

**Notes: **  
Okay, so FYI… I WILL reply to comments IF you are signed in. If you comment as GUEST, then I can't. It won't let me, even when I try to be sneaky. So, IF you want me to reply...then please sign in...or go to AO3 and reply as a Guest because I can reply there.

This chapter is in 1st person (and the epilogue will be too), but the rest will be in the standard 3rd person past tense.

. . .

"_I love you_

_For all that you are_

_All that you have been_

_And all that you will be."_

_~ Anonymous_

. . .

**2030 – Starling City**

"This isn't the world I was born into. This isn't the world that my children were born into. This isn't the future that any of us had seen coming or had planned on living through. It's dark and full of despair. It's hard to keep living and today, like so many days before, I've found it hard to keep going."

As I stare out at the city, I keep wondering why we're pushing forward. I can see the remains of all of the skyscrapers that were once large companies. I used to work in one of them. I can easily identify most of them, but Queen Consolidated, Starling National Bank, and the building that was once Merlyn Global stick out to me. The buildings were once more than shattered glass and steel. Sometimes I miss that. It makes me sick to just stare at Starling City around me in ruins.

No one lives here anymore.

I used to be an executive assistant to the CEO of Queen Consolidated. I hated it at first and now that seems so stupid because I would give anything to go back to that time. I would happily sit at my desk and make online reservations for the boss, who could easily do them from his desk with his computer. I would happily do everything for him…I would even bring him coffee everyday as many times a day as he needed…and even for the board meetings.

If only I could turn back the clock and make the world right again.

Life wasn't about daily survival, at least not in the way it is now. At least not in a way that wasn't voluntary. Sometimes I would offer to be bait during an Arrow mission, but that was something I did willingly. In this chaotic world I'm not safe. I run for my life and I hide in the shadows.

"You know way back in two thousand and thirteen, we thought that the world wouldn't be the same. There was this thing…called the Undertaking. It destroyed half of the Glades and nobody really wanted to rebuild it afterwards. Five hundred and three people died… That seemed like so many deaths. A year later, Slade Wilson built a Mirakuru army and tried to set this city on fire… I honestly thought that was the end… I didn't think that I was going to live past those days…"

I brought my hand up to cover my mouth as I thought about it, my head slightly bowed. "And yet Starling City stood… The Arrow was our hero, like a guardian angel…but not even he could protect us for what happened. I still can't believe how many people died… They took people into the streets and killed them…"

Tears fell from my eyes and I shook my head as my eyes squeezed shut at the memories. Horrible, horrible memories that are etched into my mind and I just wish I could forget. It might be easier to live in this world if I didn't have to think about all of those horrible, dark, dark days… The days that I wish never were.

"The only reason that all of those people…and all of the people everywhere have died is because of fear," I said as I turned around. I opened my eyes and turned around. The woman standing there was older than I was and I've just met her, but I feel like I can trust her. I HAVE to trust her. She's the only hope I have right now. "Fear has gotten us to this point. It turned the world hateful and dark…it sucked every last drop of happiness from our world…from our lives…"

I paused for a moment as I thought about my words. They were all true, but I wonder how this other woman is taking them. Does she believe me? Will she trust me? Will she HELP me? Will she help ALL of us? I don't know if I can wake up tomorrow knowing that the world looks like this still.

"It's stupid really," I told her as I tried to keep more tears back. "This whole thing started because ONE person didn't understand…and didn't have the ability to look at the world in an open minded manner. That's WHY the world changed. This one man. An anthropologist. How could he have so much influence? How could he not see the beauty in everything that he ended up destroying?" The tears came anyways, but I pushed forward.

"Do you remember his name?" the woman asks for the first time.

"Doctor Bolivar Trask," I tell her. "I don't know anyone who doesn't know his name… I think everyone knows the story."

"They probably don't know the whole story," she tells me.

"No one ever does," I whisper. "I know that he thought that his invention would save humanity… The problem with it was that he damned us all… His invention and their guidelines just changed and changed and soon enough…they weren't detaining people that were a danger as they saw to the population…they were killing every single person that MIGHT be a danger to those in charge. They killed children in the street for being out past curfew…"

It was quiet between the two of them as I wipe tears away from my eyes once again. I don't know how not to be emotional. I've tried. I know that it would be easier to turn cold and unemotional like others I've seen, but no matter how I try…I can't be that person. This woman, she seems to have her emotions under check. She looks so perfect against the chaos. Her dark hair is pulled back and neat, unlike her hair that even though it's pull back into a ponytail I know that it's messy. Her clothes are clean and neat and mine are whatever I could find that seemed clean enough as I tried to get out before anyone could notice that I was leaving. The metallic logo on the shoulder of her jacket shone in the light. It was some kind of cropped bird and I keep thinking an eagle in the circular logo.

"Why did you think that I could help you?"

"People say that you're who I need to contact in order to talk to the person who might be able to help us prevent all of this," I explain honestly.

"Who do you think can do that?"

"His name is whispered everywhere. That he has a team. That his inventions and innovations were always ahead of everything else," I tell her. I'm quiet before finally saying his name. "Tony Stark."

"Tony Stark and his family are all dead."

"Aren't we ALL dead?" I ask. This seems to have amused the woman. I don' t understand, but I let out a sigh. I have no idea if she's just testing me or if she's telling the truth.

"I'll be in touch."

"How?" I ask. Before, everyone could be easily kept in touch with when there were cell phones and e-mail. Now none of them used that. She ran her fingers from her right hand along the inside of her upper left arm unconsciously where the scar removing the chip they'd implanted in her had once been. It still creeped her out.

She was a fugitive.

Her home was a place that they liked to think that no one could find.

"I'll find you," the woman told her as she turns her back to me.

I suck in a breath and hope that my wait won't be long. I hope that Tony Stark is alive and hiding. There were other people that they'd heard at one time or another was dead and then there had been reports that that person was actually alive. "Can I ask you your name?"

She laughed and looked over her shoulder. "I guess it doesn't matter if you know it or not. We're all dead already, right?" There was a brief moment of silence before she continued. "Maria Hill, Ms. Queen. I WILL be in touch."

"Thank you," I whisper and for the first time in so long I allow myself a small smile as Maria Hill disappears.

A loud humming sound suddenly hits my ears and I know that it's time for me to disappear as well. I know that I shouldn't be out on the streets, especially not on a rooftop and especially not in Starling City proper. Sometimes I just like to go there, though, and remember the way things used to be. It's normally hard, but I have so many good memories from years before.

"Time to get home and face the million questions," I mutter before making myself disappear.

The sentinels were coming.

I wouldn't let them take me again.

I might actually have something to live for again…

. . .

TBC…


	2. In The Streets

**2030 – Starling City **

The buzz was so loud that she could almost feel the vibrations from it as she ran through the streets. She knew that she shouldn't be out. Felicity hardly ever came out unless it was night and even then...she was never alone and she was never unarmed like she was today. She'd created a device that would actually short circuit the sentinels just once and only for a few seconds, but it had been too bulky to bring along and she hadn't wanted to look like she was carrying a weapon. Right now, she wished she'd brought it along.

Felicity knew that she had to be careful, though. She couldn't lead them back home. She actually couldn't lead them anywhere NEAR where home was. It was too risky. Her heart was pounding and she was trying to think of where she could hide for the night. There had been a few other times where she'd been out in the city or elsewhere with sentinels roaming that meant that she had to find a spot to stay for the night, all of those times…Oliver had been with her. Oliver wasn't with her right now and she wondered if she'd pretty much committed suicide leaving the safety of the Foundry during the day.

It was getting late, but it wouldn't be dark soon enough. Even IF she'd been noticed missing and Oliver came out looking for her, it would be too dangerous. She didn't want him to be put at risk because she had to go out and try to meet with Maria Hill about Tony Stark. Felicity hadn't even talked to Oliver about it. What Oliver would say was something that she could easily put together.

It's too risky.

He's probably dead.

If he's not dead, then he's too damn far away for either group to travel to the other without being caught.

Risk. Risk. Risk.

Death.

Ducking into a home that had been destroyed in the undertaking, Felicity ducked down and under some rubble. She knew that she wouldn't be safe here. The sentinels could easily scan the area, but she just wanted to wait and rest for a few minutes before she moved on. The building was on the border of Starling City proper and the Glades, which just might work for Felicity's plan. One way that they'd been able to hide from the sentinels was by using the old underground lines. There was one that Felicity really didn't want to use, but it seemed like the safest bet. The entrance to the underground line wasn't far from where she was and once she was inside, she knew the way that led to the underground sewer system, which would be even more insulated in order to protect her from being scanned. It was why the Foundry had been kept safe. It was shielded.

Felicity could hear the sentinels and she wasn't thrilled with how close they were. She knew that she'd have to run for it and just hoped that she was fast enough. The sentinels rarely attempted to follow into the underground lines, but it still worried her. She knew that as far as the sentinels were concerned that there were no guarantees. One of them could receive an order to start to demolish that area for all she knew. She had to try something though.

"I'm sorry, Oliver," she whispered to herself as she got up to a crouched position. Felicity peered out from her hiding place, sucked in a deep breath, and then took off in the direction of the underground line. She and Oliver had been married for twelve years and this was going to be the first time that it was HER fault that they wouldn't be together since the world had gone to hell.

Nearly to the entrance, Felicity was starting to feel like the day was going to be less eventful than she thought, that was until a sentinel appeared out of nowhere. A scream escaped from her lips as she started to backpedal. She ended up on the ground, staring up at the hulking sentinel looming over her.

"Surrender!" the sentinel's computerized voice commanded. "This area is restricted!"

"I must have made a wrong turn," Felicity lied weakly as she struggled to get to her feet. "Please! I'll leave the area immediately!" She knew that begging wouldn't get her anywhere, but at the same time she knew that she had to try. The entrance to the underground line was SO close and she didn't want to be detained or just shot there in the middle of the street.

"Vocal patterns indicate: Felicity Meghan Smoak Queen," the sentinel spout off like a switch had been switched automatically. "Facial match in progress to confirm. Do not move during the process."

Normal people had to be terrified of the gigantically oversized robots, but Felicity knew that they weren't all powerful. Her flight or fight responses were really kicking in, this wasn't a time to fight. Felicity knew that. The sound of additional sentinels were getting far too close for her comfort. If she didn't take a chance now, she was definitely going to be killed or detained. Detained was worse than being killed in the streets. She wouldn't do that again.

Memories kicked to the surface and tears sprung free as she pushed herself in the direction of the underground line. She tried to push the memories back, but the sounds of children screaming filled her memory and her chest ached as she pushed herself along. Felicity let a sob escape her lips as her hand hit the stair rail as she hurried down the stairs and into where the underground line was. She didn't slow her pace once she was there, not knowing what the sentinel would do. Their awful buzz was so loud even once she hit the bottom of the stairs.

Turning left, Felicity only took a moment to let out a weak scream as the memory continued to haunt her. Wiping her face, she hurried towards where the tracks where. Pushing herself to the edge of the tracks, Felicity looked right and left out of habit, before jumping down in front of the stopped train and headed into the dark tunnel.

"Crap," she mumbled as she realized that she was possibly screwed without a source of light to make sure she found the correct crevice to crawl into. Felicity moved to the right far brick wall, put her hand on it, and started to walk into the darkness. Dust fell from the ceiling above her as the sentinels stomped around above; she pushed it away and just closed her eyes. "Focus, Felicity…" she whispered to herself.

The tunnel filled with Felicity's humming of a lullaby to try to force herself to focus and concentrate on what she was doing. The feel of the bricks under her hand as she walked deeper into the tunnel. Felicity couldn't remember how many steps it was into the tunnel, but she knew that she could find it if she just concentrated.

Eventually, she found it and safely tucked herself into the crevice. Felicity shimmed her body through a very tight opening. She had to pretty much have no breath as she did it, but sucked in stale air as soon as she made it through to an open space. Felicity collapsed immediately and just breathed.

"Keep going," she whispered to herself.

Felicity was catching her breath as she lay sprawled on the floor. Her eyes were closed and she felt like sleeping, but she knew that she couldn't stay there. Eventually, someone might find her there, but it wouldn't be soon enough. Oliver, she reminded herself.

. . .

"Felicity!"

His voice was music to her ears as she entered the shielded sanctuary of the Foundry. She was already searching for his face when she heard his voice. The place seemed even more packed with people than it had been when she'd snuck out. She didn't know how that was possible OR how they were going to make it through the next week without being found by the sentinels.

"Oliver!" she exclaimed as she flung herself at him, her arms tightening around him. Felicity squeezed him and she buried her face into his shoulder.

"Where have you been?!"

"Oliver, I—"

"Leo saw you! He said that a sentinel HAD you! I was so worried!" Oliver told her as he held her at arm's length.

"If a sentinel had captured me…I certainly wouldn't be here," Felicity told him, but couldn't bring herself to look at him.

"She could be working for them!" someone shouted.

Felicity looked worriedly about. She missed Diggle. At least when he was still there, he was always so good at keeping things under control. Nothing ever got out of control and no one ever challenged their loyalty.

"No!" Oliver shouted. "If you think that, you're crazy!" He was looking at everyone around them and was obviously angry with them. They didn't linger in the 'common area'; Oliver guided her back to 'their' room. They were the only ones that had their own enclosed space that was only theirs. Their room was about the size of a broom closet, but that was luxury compared to how everyone else was living.

The door closed once they were both in and Oliver had his hands all over her, searching her body. "I'm fine," she whispered, but that didn't stop him. There had been numerous times over the course of their marriage (and even before) where they've said they were fine and that hadn't been the full exact truth. So, she didn't expect anything different.

Finally, when he was truly satisfied that she wasn't bleeding and nothing was broken, he framed her face with his hands and kissed her. She could feel his tears hit her face and she joined him. It was so hard for them to be together it seemed without tears nowadays…

"I thought I'd lost you…" he whispered after a moment. "That I was alone…" His voice broke and he just sounded so hopeless.

"I always come back," she reminded, her voice just as quiet as his as she stared at him.

Oliver tugged at a chain around his neck until it was fully removed from where it had been hidden under his shirt. On the chain were their wedding rings, he held them up. "PLEASE…wear it…"

"You know I can't…"

"We're still married…"

"We are," she confirmed and leaned in and kissed him. Felicity took the handful of chain and rings from him and stuffed it back into his shirt. She pushed him a little until his back was against the wall, her hands moving to find the hem of his shirt. Felicity's hands pushed up under it and ran one hand up his spine while the other moved up the skin of his side.

"Felicity…" he whispered against his lips.

"I love you," Felicity reminded him.

This was always how it was.

Everything in their life wasn't how it SHOULD be and she never wanted to talk about any of it. Oliver was the last thing that kept her from committing suicide in one way or another; in this world…there were countless ways to do that on a daily basis where it would easily look like an accident. He NEEDED her and Felicity wasn't going to leave him in that hell of a world all alone. She'd never do that. So, she'd do anything to avoid the truth of the world they lived in…

"I love you," he echoed as he stared at her. Oliver's fingers ran through her hair and he just stared at her. "I'm tired…"

Silence.

It took her a moment to ensure that she'd be composed for the reply. So many things had happened over the last fifteen years, but it seemed like even more had happened in the last two. They both had felt the crushing weight of the world and she wasn't surprised that it was too much… She just didn't want to wake up…except to escape the nightmares.

Felicity nodded for a moment. "I know," she whispered and leaned in to kiss him. Felicity moved back to stare into his eyes once again. "So am I…but Oliver, I'm not going to just disappear and leave you here alone…"

They were both quiet for what stretched on for several minutes.

"Do you remember when we used to sleep in my apartment?" she asked. Felicity hated it when their moments were so sad and filled with despair. She smiled at the memory of it. That was all that life was now…memories strung together that either made her happy or suicidal. "You used to make fun of my pajama bottoms…"

For the first time in months, he smiled. Oh how she missed that smile… She had started to think that she'd never see it again. Felicity went on in hopes that they'd make it one more day…and Maria Hill would find her and tell her something that would change their lives for the better. "You would always say—"

"You don't need the pajamas…" Oliver finished.

Felicity beamed a bit. "Or anything else…"

"I can't help it… You are the most beautiful woman in this world…" Oliver told her. "You have never needed the make-up, the hours doing your hair, fancy clothes, or sexy lingerie… YOU are beautiful…and it's always shone through."

She kissed him again. "Can you make me forget earlier?" she whispered against his lips.

"I can try…"

. . .

TBC…


	3. In the Past

**Starling City 2022**

Sometimes it was hard for them to balance having a normal life. The world knew what they did at night plus they still ran Queen Consolidated during the day. It was quite a busy life, especially with a family. Today was a day with time that they'd purposely carved out.

"I want to play! I want to play!" Tommy yelled as he followed after Andy as he kicked around a soccer ball.

It was certainly a very normal thing for most people to have a family picnic at the park, but it was something special for them to feel so normal. They had blankets laid out on the grass and had brought lunch. It was simple, but it would be a day to remember.

Felicity held her daughter in her arms as she watched the boys playing. "Where's Lyla?" she asked as soon as Diggle settled down on the blanket.

"Miserable at home on bed rest," he told her. "Andy's been going a little crazy being stuck home with her all the time. Makes me wonder if home schooling the boys is really the right choice."

Felicity watched them play. It was hard for them to be their kids. They weren't exactly celebrities, but everyone knew who they were. When Andy started school, kids were either his best friend or they'd beat him up because of his dad worked with Team Arrow. It just wasn't safe for their kids.

"You know that I would be more than happy to tutor him in the evenings," Felicity told him.

"I might just have to take you up on that offer."

"Daddy!"

Felicity's head turned to see Oliver picking up Tommy and hugging him before taking an arm and pulling Andy into a hug too. Oliver was dressed in a suit and was obviously late because he'd gone into Queen Consolidated. Felicity knew that it was hard for Oliver to stay still or sleep. After a minute with the boys, he moved towards them. He discarded the jacket, the tie came next, and then he unbuttoned the top few buttons. Oliver sat down and leaned in to kiss her.

"How are my girls?" Oliver asked. He kissed Felicity again before pressing a kiss to their daughter's forehead.

"Better now that you are here," she told him. "I thought you were going to take the day off?"

"I went to see their new sentinel designs," Oliver explained. "They want—"

"No," Felicity said firmly.

Since the sentinels had been invented, the world had changed. At first, they only went after mutants…the dangerous ones. Pretty soon, the government decided that every mutant was a threat and needed to be detained. Eventually they released those who they deemed to be innocent mutant citizens, but enforced a new law. All mutants, heroes, or anyone else that worked in concert with them had to be registered with the government.

All three of them were registered with the government and their children were also listed. It was supposed to 'protect' them, but Felicity had always felt like it was there to hurt them. The government had pretty much everything that could identify them for any reason: photos, fingerprints, blood types, DNA, and voice samplings.

Felicity wanted absolutely NO connection if they could get away with it. Things had to been good and she wanted it to stay that way. All she wanted was for the government to leave them alone and for her kids to be safe. Felicity wanted their kids to continue to be kids, even if they were a bit sheltered from the world. She'd rather shelter her four-year-old little boy, Thomas, and her four-month-old baby girl, Madelyn. She didn't see any problem with that and she knew that Diggle had been battling over the same questions in regards to Andy now that he was eight.

"I HAD to go, Felicity," Oliver told her gently. "Think about how it would look to the board if I rejected it without going?"

Diggle sighed. "I hate to say it, but he's right."

She stared down at her beautiful Madelyn in her arms. Felicity didn't know if she was just hormonal, but she couldn't even fathom working with the government…not after everything she'd heard. "No more talk about this," she said calmly. "Today's all about family time." She bounced Madelyn for a moment before looking up at Oliver and Diggle.

"Do you think I could hold Maddie for a bit?" Oliver asked as he extended his arms towards her.

Felicity handed their daughter over to him. She watched them for a moment and couldn't stop smiling. Being a dad was definitely something Oliver did the best.

""We're hungry," Tommy complained as he and Andy ran back toward them.

She sighed. "I guess that's my cue to make sandwiches…"

"My hands are full," Oliver told her.

Felicity made a face at him and then turned to see Diggle eating chips. "Are you going to say that your hands are full, too?"

"I was going to point out that you always make them better," Diggle admitted with a shrug and then shoved another chip into his mouth.

They were still impossible.

"Uncle Digg is right," Tommy spoke up. "You DO make everything better than Daddy."

"And MY MOM," Andy spoke up.

"Go play for a few more minutes," she told the boys. Once they were out of earshot, she turned back to Oliver and Diggle. "You have trained them well," she commented as she started to pull out everything to make the sandwiches. The guys just laughed and Felicity just couldn't manage to keep a smile off of her face.

. . .

**Starling City 2028**

They'd spent four years avoiding the government and the sentinels after they passed a law that made it legal for the government to arrest everyone on their mutant/hero/assistant list from 2020. That's what the government wanted and they arrested those people the first chance they got after the bill passed.

They'd been lucky.

The Queen Family couldn't go back to the mansion OR to the Foundry (or even the back-up one). So, they'd been living underground with a few other families since then. There were other cells in Starling City, but the one they'd been staying with had been the best fit for them.

"Sentinels!"

Felicity grabbed Madelyn and Oliver grabbed Tommy. They immediately disappeared into the shielded wall space and tried to stay quiet. Felicity and Oliver were facing each other with their children in their arms. They'd done drills like this, but she'd never thought they'd actually do it for real.

"Mommy?" Madelyn whispered. Her bright blue eyes looked up.

"Shh…" Felicity hushed and held Madelyn closer. Her daughter was six years old and had spent far too much of her life living in a hell that she thought was normal. The only time Madelyn had ever been on a swing or slide was when she was little and had a parent doing it with her.

It wasn't right.

It wasn't fair.

Felicity ran her fingers through her daughter's blonde hair and thought about the conversation she was going to have with Oliver after this. She was going to tell him that they had to leave Starling City, IT needed to be in their past. There were rumors of a safe place…one where children could run on grass in the sun…where they could play without fear. They had to take the chance.

The sentinel was in the building now; their sound was something you got used to knowing their distance. This was the only reason why she was happy that they truly had nothing, nothing was left out to make it look like someone had been living there. The buzz vibrated the walls, the sentinels dispatched had to be different sizes, Felicity thought.

At first, the sentinels were all these massive robots that were taller than two story buildings. They became too destructive when they had to do more exact hunting and extraction. Whole buildings, homes, and other structures had been destroyed in the early days. They'd leveled whole cities and done far more destruction than Merlyn's Undertaking. Now, they built smaller ones that still towered over people, but the gigantic ones were kept around to illicit fear and to be an ever-present reminder and presence.

Felicity knew that the larger ones were outside because it felt like an earthquake as they walked around. Madelyn gripped her tighter. She wished that her children could have been raised in the Queen Mansion with everything they could possibly need AND want. Felicity pressed a kiss to Madelyn's forehead as they all held their breath. Her hand moved out and Oliver grasped hers.

The sound alarmed her as she tried to comprehend where the sound was coming from. Madelyn was the first thing Felicity checked. Before she could look over to Oliver and Tommy, screams echoed.

"No! Please! We have done nothing!"

The walls seemed to ramble as it sounded like the walls were being pulled apart. Felicity realized what the sound before had been, a child's cry. It was like her brain was playing catch up with what had happened. She thought that the voice that had been pleading with the sentinel had been Blake Mohlmaster.

"Identities confirmed," the sentinel's digitalized voice boomed. "Blake Mohlmaster. Cora Mohlmaster. Emily Mohlmaster. You are confirmed enemies of the government. You will be detained. Do not resist."

"Please! Let my wife and daughter go!" Blake begged. "It was MY crime!"

"Your crime becomes their crime. You know the law."

"What if I have something to trade?" Blake questioned. "Information?"

"Processing request."

Felicity looked across to Oliver. She was worried that he would reveal the position of everyone hiding in those walls. She understood his want to protect his family, but her kids… Madelyn and Tommy were on her mind. If only children and non-involved family members weren't linked to their crimes…

It seemed to be quiet for so long. Felicity knew that there had been movement. She heard it, but it wasn't enough for the room to be empty. She knew that it wasn't safe yet. So, they just stayed still and waited.

"I was told that you might have information for me," and unknown voice filled the silence.

"Will-will you let them go?" he stumbled the question.

"I MIGHT be willing to release them…if the information is good enough."

"I-I-I know a location…of-of-of importance to the resistance."

"There is NO resistance," the man snapped. "Just misguided people."

"Of-of course…"

"But you DO have my interest."

"In-in Coast City," Blake tried to push out coherently. "There's a church there… Saint Isadore's. That's where we were to go. They erase people from your systems and give new identities. Once that's done, they send you somewhere safe…"

The man laughed.

Felicity closed her eyes and focused on keeping calm. Coast City was supposed to be where they were going to be heading next. Oliver had finally agreed to let go of Starling City and for them to leave. Everyone else had. Sara had told them years before that they were welcome in Nanda Parbat with her. She'd come to Starling City and taken her family there to keep them safe. Felicity had tried to convince Oliver to agree to go to Nanda Parbat then, especially with Diggle, Lyla, and their boys under the rogue protection of ARGUS. Oliver had felt like Starling City still needed a hero, or at least that was what he told everyone else.

The truth was that he was afraid to leave.

One day, before Tommy was even born, Thea and Roy had just disappeared without a note or any kind of clue as to where they were or what had happened. It was all a mystery, still. They'd searched for them and even reported them as missing persons. They'd never been found and no clue had ever surfaced. Oliver didn't want to leave Starling City for fear that Thea might return and he wouldn't be there. At least if he was IN the city, then he'd likely see or hear something about her. Felicity was fairly sure that she was the only one who knew (though others likely suspected) the real truth as to why he'd insisted that they remain in Starling City all these years.

"The only SAFE place is where the government places you," the man said.

"Please! I am only a man—"

"You broke the law! You assisted in keeping people like the Arrow and the Flash hidden from the government," the man said. "You weren't working DIRECTLY with those criminals, but you're just as guilty." The man paused. "But your wife and daughter ARE technically innocent since they had no direct involvement in your crimes."

Felicity knew one thing for sure as far as people like the man who was talking to Blake was concerned: they always lied. She and Oliver had seen this before. They would offer to release the family members that hadn't been involved, but then they'd shoot them. They'd remind the 'criminal' that they'd requested that they were released, which was precisely what they'd done. Released them from life. The speech would always be the same and Felicity felt like that was what was coming next.

"You want me to release them?" the man asked.

She wanted to shout 'no', but she kept silent.

"Please! Please!" Blake pleaded.

Felicity felt helpless, but life was different when you were a parent.

"The government will be willing to release them, but only if you promise to provide us with ANY and ALL information pertaining to the criminals you know and how they've managed to escape detection for this long."

"I swear!" Blake said almost too quickly.

"Then release them," the man instructed.

Her eyes met with Oliver's as they both turned their children towards their chests and covered their ears to muffle the gunshots that came. It was difficult trying to shield their children from horrors like these. Even with the world that they lived in, they didn't want their children to have to grow up too fast and have to face death directly. They were still so young! They still kept hoping that something would happen…laws would be changed and they could go back to their lives.

Two gunshots.

Blake's screams felt like they were trapped in her ears. Tears fell from her face. No matter how many times people that they knew (and even others that they didn't) were killed in this war, Felicity would always cry for them.

. . .

**Central City 2028**

They'd gotten to Central City and had thought they were safe for the first time since it all started. The sentinels came in the middle of the night and took every single person they declared a criminal. Felicity only felt lucky because they hadn't separated them, which made things only SLIGHTLY less terrifying.

Being an adult and a parent meant that neither Oliver nor Felicity could really show their true emotions. They had to be strong for their kids. Felicity didn't know what to think about what was going to happen. They both knew better than to ask for their children to be set free, plus even IF (and they knew that 'if' was impossible) they let them go, then whom would they be released to? Everyone they knew and trusted were deemed criminals by the government or dead…and Tommy and Madelyn were far too young to live on their own.

"What's going to happen?" Madelyn asked. It was clear that she was terrified and Felicity hadn't missed her trembling.

What WAS going to happen?

"Don't worry, Sweetheart," Oliver spoke up. He'd not only managed a quiet and calm tone, but also a smile. Felicity didn't know how he did it so seemingly easily.

"WHY are you telling her that? We all know what happens," Tommy spoke up angrily. "They're going to want information and then they'll kill us."

"I'm NOT going to let that happen."

Ten-year-old Tommy motioned around them. "We're all in prison… You don't have your bow, your arrows, or even your hood… HOW are you going to make it out of here?"

Before either of them could respond, the cell door opened and guards moved in to restrain her and Oliver as they hauled their children out of the cell. Oliver and Felicity's screams, cries, and shoutings fell on deaf ears and joined in with other screams.

At first, they'd screamed and begged. Oliver had pounded on the door until his hands bled. Felicity had dragged him away and he'd ended up holding her as she cried.

Eventually, someone came. Felicity knew that no matter what was promised that they would be lies. The government didn't believe in heroes anymore, just the sentinels. They didn't care, they couldn't not try.

Oliver and Felicity were led to another area of the facility. It was a room obviously for questioning with four chairs and a table in the middle. They sat down and Felicity was surprised that they were not handcuffed or restrained in some other way. The contingent of guards that had escorted them there though had been a clear indication that they knew what they (mainly Oliver) were capable of.

"We've been looking for you two for quite some time," the man said. "I'm actually surprised that it took so long to find you. Traveling with two children must have been difficult… We've been pursuing you for what?" He paused. "About five years? Almost your daughter's entire life…" He started to pace as he spoke. "I'm sure that you would both rather be back in Starling City raising your children in Queen Mansion. I'm sure we could find positions for both of you…"

"We've heard the lies before," Oliver told him gruffly. "You can skip it."

"You've never been brought in, Mr. Queen."

"We've heard your people tell others," Oliver replied through gritted teeth. It was clear that Oliver was angry and getting angrier every time that the man spoke. "We've watched as they've begged for their spouses and their children's lives to be spared only to have them shot right in front of them!"

"That has been an unfortunate—"

"Unfortunate?!" Oliver exploded and got to his feet.

As okay as Felicity would be with Oliver beating the guy, she knew that the guards would burst in and it wouldn't end well for Oliver. She reached up and grabbed his arm. "Oliver," she whispered.

"Believe me, I understand WHY you're upset," he told them. He held up a hand. "Why don't I show you some good faith? I'll have your children brought here… I'll leave the room and let you have ten minutes alone. Sound good? You can think about my offer then."

"You weren't…precise about the offer," Oliver ground out.

"Do you really think that we'd killed the Arrow or the Oracle?" He paused for a moment. "It would look much better to the world and those hiding from us that they CAN still do the right thing."

"You labeled us AND our children criminals," Felicity reminded. "I thought we'd evolved beyond that kind of thing."

"It's all above my pay grade," he told her. "All I'm trying to do is give your family a close to normal life back. You would both work for the government. Positions in your strengths are needed. You and your children would submit to having chips implanted once again."

"And we'd be able to raise our children how we see fit?" Felicity questioned.

"They would be required to attend school—"

"We've always home schooled."

"May I ask your reasoning behind that choice?" he asked.

Felicity almost wondered if it was worth it to entertain the conversation. "It's not safe for them…"

"I ASSURE you, they would be safe," he told her confidently. "How do we expect to raise world leaders if bullying is tolerated?"

"And where would we live?" Oliver asked.

"Your accounts and properties were frozen, Mr. Queen. It's still YOURS, if you agree." He paused and shrugged. "I assume Queen Mansion."

"Pardoned? Just like that?"

Obviously Oliver thought it MIGHT be possible, but could they really live that lie of a life? Felicity just didn't see either of them doing it, but then her thoughts turned to Tommy and Madelyn. When you were a parent (at least a good one) you did anything for your children.

"They'll be a contract, of course. But yes, Mr. Queen, it can be as easy as signing your name."

"You've certainly given us something to think about," Oliver told him and Felicity could tell that he was trying to contain his emotions.

"Good! You know what? I'm going to have legal write up those forms right now," he told them. "I'll have the children brought in, I'll bring in the contracts, and then we'll just have a few questions for both of you."

Questions…

"What kind of questions?"

"Simple ones. Where you've stayed these last few years. Who has helped you. Any information about the steps after Central City."

They wanted names and locations of innocent people. They wanted them to not only be their poster family for reform, but to also turn on everyone they knew. How could they do that? How could they be expected to?

The man left and a few minutes later their children were returned to them. Felicity didn't think she'd hugged either of them so tightly before or been so relieved to see them.

"Did they hurt you?"

"Are you alright?"

Felicity cupped Tommy's face in her hands, as she looked him over. Even at ten years old, he tried so hard to be grown up and strong, but she knew that he was breaking apart inside. "Are you okay?" she asked again.

Slowly, he swallowed and then nodded his head. "There were a lot of kids…"

"How many?" Oliver asked and Felicity knew it was out of habit.

"A little more than twenty," Tommy replied.

Felicity looked over to Oliver as she held onto Tommy. This was beyond serious and they needed to know what they were going to do. She didn't want to sell out people or give away safe locations or even work for the government, but these were their children's lives…

Felicity had her arm wrapped around Tommy while Madelyn sat on her lap, her other arm kept her daughter in place. Oliver was standing between them and the door when the man and his contingent of armed guards returned to the room. The tension was higher now and she didn't know what they were going to do. How were they going to get out of this? How were they going to keep their kids safe? WAS there a way out?

"We'll sign your contracts… We'll answer your questions," Oliver spoke up before she could really process how big of a decision it was. They hadn't been able to really discuss it, but they were in this together no matter what. They were a team and they both wanted what was best for their children, right now that meant living.

"What contracts? What questions? What are you doing?" Tommy started to burst with questions.

He didn't understand. Neither of them would at ten and six. They might not even understand when they were older…not until they had kids of their own would they understand that you did anything and everything to keep your children safe. In this world, that was hard and sacrifices had to be made.

"Sometimes you have to do the unthinkable," Oliver turned to speak to Tommy. "You'll understand when you're older." He was calm and almost businesslike. Felicity knew that this was the hardest thing that they had to do, to basically give up and to sign their lives away to the government that had taken everything normal and right away from them.

"Unthinkable?! What's that supposed to mean?" Tommy exploded and pulled away from Felicity.

"Tommy!" she shouted and reached out to grab his arm. He got too far from her. She was getting up from her chair in order to retrieve him, but everything happened too fast… Before she could even take another breath, he was lying on the floor bleeding. "No!" she screamed. Felicity held tight to Madelyn as she moved to her son's side. She crouched on the floor and pulled him up into her lap. Oliver was right across from her and seemed unable to touch him.

"Mo-mom…" Tommy gasped and coughed up blood.

Her son had been stabbed in the chest by one of the guards because he did what she and Oliver were too scared to do, to resist in that situation. He was far too young. She knew that the government man had ordered for a medic, but Felicity feared that they wouldn't come soon enough. Tears rained down from her eyes as she pushed his hair away from his face. "I'm here, Tommy… It's going to be okay… They're getting a doctor…"

"Don't do it…"

"Shh…" she hushed and leaned down to kiss his forehead. "You just rest…you're going to be okay…" It was like he had been taken right in front of her. He was breathing one minute, staring up at her, whispering 'Mom', and the next… Felicity shook him and shouted his name.

He didn't move.

He didn't respond.

His lifeless eyes just stared up at her.

"Someone do something!" Felicity shouted.

Tommy was dead.

Her son was gone.

He'd died in her arms.

He'd been murdered because he was a boy and was upset.

This wasn't how it was supposed to be.

Felicity unconsciously rocked herself as she pulled Madelyn close, while Tommy was still in her lap. She let out a scream before sobs bubbled to the surface. It wasn't until the door opened and a medic rushed in that she even looked to Oliver. How could this have happened? Her eyes moved to the medic, who had moved Tommy to the floor and was examining him. "You can do something, right?" she finally managed to get out.

There seemed to be a long pause before anyone spoke.

"I'm sorry, he's gone," the medic said as his fingers moved his eyelids until they covered his eyes. "There's nothing I can do."

She was still trying to process what the medic had said as she stared down at Tommy through tear filled eyes when Oliver exploded at the nearest guard. He threw him into a nearby wall and was screaming.

"We were going to sign the contracts! They weren't supposed to be harmed! He's only ten years old! He's a boy!" Oliver screamed.

"Dad! Stop!" Madelyn cried out.

Felicity had finally gotten up from the floor and was holding Madelyn. She didn't care that she was six; she wasn't going to let Madelyn go in fear of what could happen. She was about to take a step towards Oliver in order to stop him, tears still falling and sobs still bubbling up, but she was snatched and pulled back by one of the guards.

"Let me go!" Felicity yelled.

She watched as Oliver fought with other guards. Felicity knew that she could probably get the guard off of her, but it would require her to put Madelyn down and she just couldn't bring herself to do it. So, she watched in horror of the guards beat on Oliver until he seemed to have the advantage and had the government talker in his hands. Oliver was poised to break his neck and as much as Felicity wanted revenge, he hadn't been the person who had killed their son.

"Oliver! No! Please!"

Felicity had known Oliver for some time and he had come a long way from being the killer known as the vigilante or the Hood in Starling City. The Arrow was someone who only killed when it was absolutely necessary.

"You better listen to your wife," one of the guards said as he pointed a gun at her.

Looking between Oliver and the guard with the gun, Felicity then realized that he had been the one who had stabbed Tommy. HE was the reason that their son was dead. He seemed bloodthirsty and didn't seem to have any remorse for killing their son right in front of them. "We can stop this all right now!" Felicity shouted.

"She's right!" the government man agreed. "Everyone calm down. Take a breath."

"My son is dead!" Oliver snapped.

"And the person responsible with face charges."

"He was ten years old! He-he-"

Felicity could see Oliver breaking down, but she could also see the look that the guard with the gun was getting. He seemed irritated by the exchange between Oliver and the man.

"There's only ONE way to end this," the guard with the gun spoke up.

He was going to shot them, Felicity realized. She held tight to Madelyn and shifted her weight in order to sharply pull to one side. The guard holding her didn't seem to have been expecting that and Felicity was turned when the gunshot went off. The pain was nothing for Felicity; all she'd wanted to do was to protect her daughter. Felicity was having a hard time keeping her eyes open as she tried to force herself to stay awake once she hit the floor.

"Felicity! Maddie!" Oliver screamed.

"Mommy…" Madelyn whispered.

Felicity stared into her daughter's big blue eyes and realized then that something was wrong. Her eyes tiredly searched for what was wrong. There was blood all over Madelyn's chest, but Felicity had expected that…it was her blood. Or at least that was what she'd thought. Right before everything went black, Felicity saw the wound in her daughter's chest. The bullet had gone through her and had hit Madelyn anyway. She hadn't served on the human shield as she'd thought or planned.

. . .

**Starling City 2030**

The sound of her heart pounding was all she could hear, but she'd known that she'd let out a scream when Oliver had grabbed her almost immediately after she'd sat up. Immediately her hands covered her face as she hunched over a bit, she could feel the wetness from her tears and she sucked in breath.

"You're safe," he whispered.

Those words felt like such a lie.

"I'm here, Felicity…"

She hated it, but she couldn't be around him…not after those dreams. They had been far too vivid and she could still feel blood on her hands. Felicity pushed Oliver back. She couldn't stand to be near him. It was too hard. "I'm sorry," she breathed as she pushed to her feet, her hands hit the door of their 'room'. Felicity opened it and took a step through before looking back at him sitting there on the floor of the closet-size room. Tears streamed her face and started to blur her vision. She closed the door behind her finally and moved away from it. Her arms crossed over her chest and she lifted her shoulders a bit as she tried to put as much space between them as possible.

Eventually, she decided that she had to leave the safety of the Foundry after she'd finished pacing the only available space in the Foundry. It was just too crowded there nowadays. It was hard for her to handle it. How she wished things had been different…

What if they'd stayed together?

What if they'd left with Sara?

What if they'd fought back?

What if…

None of those 'what if's were going to bring her children back. She knew that. Felicity couldn't even visit their graves because they had been cremated and then all dumped into a mass grave. There was only one place in Starling City where she felt right mourning their loss…

She'd retreated to the subway system, Felicity had thrown up somewhere along the way. It wasn't like she had much in her stomach, she did that on purpose. Finally, she had found the correct station. The entrance at the top had been buried and blocked long ago. The sentinels never bothered it and it tended to be a place that everyone checked much like a message board. Every city had a place like this. This station was at Saint James, which if the saint happened to be a protector of something that they needed protected from it would have been a bit more…spiritual.

Saint James had a broken down train car, which people used to sleep in when they were passing through and didn't have a place. One wall was dedicated to messages in one section, just in case a loved one or friend passed through. The other portion of that wall was a shrine to all of those that were lost. Pictures adorned the wall, candles burned on the floor right in front. They were always lit when Felicity went there. She didn't know who lit them, but someone knew that that place was special to people. It was one of the only things they had left. It was the closest thing to a church they had. The other wall had names scrolled all over it.

Names of the dead.

It was one thing to have a picture. Felicity didn't even have a picture of her kids that was around the time that they'd been murdered. The last picture that she had was from 2024 before the world went completely upside down. It was something that she would never part with. She moved to the center of that wall and looked upward. This part of the wall was dedicated to over two hundred names of children that had all been murdered in what people called 'The Massacre of Our Future' and some called 'The Massacre of Heroes'. The same day that her children died, so did all of these other children. It hadn't been planned. It was a chain reaction sort of thing. Felicity still didn't understand it all, because how could you understand killing one child? Let alone massacring hundreds?

Her children's names were the first hand written on the wall in sharpie.

Thomas Robert Queen 2018-2028

Madelyn Meghan Queen 2022-2028

Her children weren't the only ones that were on that wall though.

Andrew Oliver Diggle 2014-2028

Bennett Michel Diggle 2022-2028

Presley Nyssa Lance 2023-2028

Felicity had known Andy and Ben and had loved them both when they were altogether like they were her own boys. She hadn't seen them for years, but that didn't change the horror she'd felt when she'd seen their name on the list…or Presley. They didn't even know that Sara had had a child, a daughter. She mourned those three children along with her own two as if they were hers. They were all a family, no matter the distance that had been put between them or how much time had passed since they'd seen each other.

The names of children all seemed to blur together for her normally except those five names. Tonight though, she noticed other names.

Sophia Maria Stark 2016-2028

Charlotte Virginia Stark 2018-2028

Ethan Howard Stark 2023-2028

Kylie Rose Banner 2025-2028

Those names only popped out because she was waiting to hear news about Tony Stark and she'd heard rumors that the other man that he worked with was Bruce Banner. The two of them were apparently geniuses on their own, Felicity couldn't imagine how much smarter they were when they put their heads together. They had both lost children, so they knew exactly how she and Oliver felt. They understood the pain and loss. They understood how it felt like your life was over.

She hadn't even realized someone was there, not until she'd noticed someone setting out flowers. Where had they gotten flowers from? Felicity moved her attention to the green hooded person kneeling there.

"Oliver?" she whispered.

It had been years since she'd seen him in that green leather. It had been at least four years and she'd started to think that Oliver had burned it or it was lost altogether. He looked up at her and pushed the hood back. "I hope you don't mind the company," he said quietly. "I come here…a…lot…"

Felicity nodded at first before the question came from her lips. "When do you come here?"

"Every morning… Every night…"

"Who lights the candles?" she asked. Felicity figured if he was there every morning then he had to have seen whoever was doing it. She knew that Oliver didn't sleep much, neither of them did. Sleep wasn't peaceful and it just brought about a recap of everything bad that had happened in their lives.

"I do."

"You…do?" she asked and that wasn't the response that she'd expected. Felicity's mouth sort of hung open as she stared at him. "Where did you find the flowers?"

"I bring them for Maddie…" he said quietly. "I go back to the house—"

"You've been to Queen Mansion?"

"I go early…when it's still dark… The gardens are overgrown, but there are still flowers there… Probably one of the FEW places in Starling City that still has them."

"I want to go home," she whispered as more tears fell from her eyes. That's all she wanted. "I want to go home to our family…to the happiness that used to fill our lives…" Her voice broke and she shook her head a moment. "I want to go back and I'd give it all up if it meant that we could be that family…"

"I don't know that I could…" Oliver admitted. "Being the Arrow gave me purpose then."

Felicity stared at him for a long moment and decided that she had to tell him because he was still Oliver and she still loved him madly even after everything they'd suffered through. He was the only other person in the world that loved her, understood her, and suffered with her. "What if we COULD go back?" she brought up.

"We can't—"

"But what if there was a chance we could change things?"

"What are you talking about?" he asked slowly as he straightened.

Felicity drew in breath and then let it out. "Have you heard of Tony Stark or Bruce Banner?"

"They're heroes…or they were…they're dead," Oliver told her. "People called them Iron Man and the Hulk…"

"Tony Stark's wife, Pepper, was called Rescue."

They stood there in silence for a moment.

"What do they have to do with changing things?" Oliver finally asked.

"I think they're alive."

He closed his eyes and sighed. "Felicity—"

"I spoke to someone…I'm waiting to hear back from her—"

"That's where you were?! Who was it?! How do you know that they didn't follow you back?!"

He was angry and she knew that he would be. Felicity wasn't going to be discouraged by his attitude. "Have you heard of SHIELD?"

"No."

"It's like ARGUS…except in my personal opinion…they're the better version…" Felicity told him and for a moment she felt like her younger self. Maybe it was because she was allowing herself to believe in this hope…

Hope was precious…fragile…and hard to come by these days.

"ARGUS didn't keep Andy or Ben safe," Oliver pointed out. His voice broke and he looked away from her. "Or John…"

"SHIELD didn't keep Tony Stark or Bruce Banner's children safe either…" Felicity swallowed hard and tried to keep her emotions level, which wasn't easy. "But that's more of a reason to believe that IF they are alive, that they'll help…"

"Time travel?" Oliver questioned as he looked back at her. "You know that that sounds crazy, right?"

"Or science fiction…" she told him with a shrug.

"Felicity, what if they're really dead?"

"I don't believe that."

Oliver sighed.

She looked over at him and knew exactly what his issue was. He didn't WANT to hope. He didn't want to have it. Hope could be taken away and it could hurt you worse… "Okay," she said quietly. "Then, I'll hope enough for the both of us…"

"When will you know?"

"I don't know… She said that she'd find me. Maria Hill. She's with SHIELD."

Oliver nodded. "I want to hope…"

"I know…"

He held out his arm, his fingers just barely brushing against the sleeve of her jacket. This was how it always was. He never pushed. He knew that he had to wait until she was ready for him. Felicity's eyes searched his face and a few tears fell from her eyes. She moved her hand until she grasped his. Felicity launched herself at him a moment later. He held her tight, squeezing her almost too tight, but it felt so good.

"We never talk anymore," she whispered as she held on for dear life.

His hand ran along her back. "I know," he responded back just as quietly.

"Why?"

"Because I already know all of the conversations we would have…"

"Are you sure?" she asked as she looked up at him. Felicity sometimes wondered if they still knew each other as well as they once did. The last two years had been the worst kind of hell and she didn't know if things would ever be anywhere near the same between them. How could they? After everything they'd lost? After all of the horror? After all of the mourning? After the loss?

"You and I are both barely holding on to life," he said as he stared right into her eyes. "Every morning, we're not sure we can make it through the day…and every night, we tell ourselves that we don't want to wake up. Suicide would be the easy way out…but then we think about the other…and we can't do it. We can't leave the other in this world…not alone…not after everything."

And he was right.

Oh God, he was so right.

"That's why I come here…" Oliver told her. "As much as it would just be easier to forget them…it's harder too… How can I?" he asked her. "They were the best things in our lives. We did EVERYTHING for them… And I failed them… I failed you…" His voice broke and he bowed his head.

They'd never talked about them since they'd been killed. She hadn't even known about Madelyn until Lyla had told her. She'd resurfaced to find them and tell them about John. He'd died trying to protect their boys. Lyla had been the one to tell her that Tommy and Madelyn had died, but that the government had saved her life and then had just released them before Lyla just disappeared again. That was it, that was the only conversation that had ever been had about Tommy and Madelyn. Everything else had just been comfort between the two of them. Maybe Oliver was right; maybe they'd come to the point where they didn't have to talk about everything, when the other just KNEW.

"You're wrong," Felicity whispered as she reached out and lifted his chin with her finger. When his eyes met hers, she spoke again. "You didn't fail me… You haven't failed them…"

"Felicity—"

"You're still a hero."

"No, I'm not." She watched as tears fell from his eyes and his voice broke.

"You are."

"I barely function."

"You keep those people alive…and safe, Oliver," Felicity reminded.

Oliver just stared at her a moment. "You wish that you'd died with Madelyn, don't you? Or that you could trade your life for hers? Or Tommy's?"

Her blue eyes just stared into his for a long moment as more tears fell. She nodded slowly. "Yes…and I know that you would trade places with one of them without a second thought."

"I would do ANYTHING to bring them back…"

"So, hope…"

"I want to."

. . .

TBC…


	4. Agents of SHIELD

**2030 Starling City**

Felicity seemed to have been spending far too more time at Saint James. There was something so peaceful about it. Plus, it had the added bonus of not really knowing what time of day it was or how much time had passed. She was just sitting in there on a bench and really just thinking about her life.

Whenever she'd look up at the names, she'd try to think back to a really happy memory. It was just so hard to think about Tommy and Madelyn and think that she'd failed them…and then how she'd lost them. Their blood on her hands. Sometimes it really felt like they had no happy memories…

"It's hard to look at all of those names."

Felicity turned to see Maria Hill standing there. "Yes," she replied quietly. She paused for a moment to assure that she was calm enough to speak and think clearly. "But there are so many other names…names that we don't even know that should be listed somewhere…"

"You're right."

"Did you find Tony Stark?" Felicity asked.

Maria Hill was silent for a moment. She moved towards Felicity and sat down next to her, her eyes on the wall of names. "I've known where he is," she told her truthfully. "He IS alive. We decided that the ONLY way we would even involve you would be for you to find a way to help. You're good with computers, so they could use your help there."

"It's been a while since I've touched a working computer," Felicity confessed. "But I can still help… It shouldn't take me any time to get back into it."

"But ONLY you."

Felicity stared at the other woman. "I—" She was having a hard time keeping her composure. She was ready to break down and let tears loose. "I CAN'T leave Oliver…" Even IF it meant fixing the future and their timeline being changed, she just couldn't abandon him.

"As far as I know, Oliver Queen isn't going to be an asset to Tony Stark or the project that he's working on," Maria told her.

Felicity couldn't stop the tears, she was so torn, but she tried to quickly wipe them all away. She got up from the bench and moved to the wall. Her fingers rested by her children's names. "THEY are the reasons why I can't just leave Oliver to go with you. We need each other." She turned to look at Maria. "Please! We'll figure out a way to both contribute."

Since they had been sheltering people in the Foundry for the past two years, she knew how you really needed to have as cohesive of a group as possible. You couldn't have people who just didn't help the community as a whole. That didn't mean that it made it any easier to cope with the idea of leaving Oliver behind. She just couldn't do it. They were a team, they needed each other, and they were just better when they were together.

It seemed like Maria was really contemplating what she'd said. "That's fair," Hill finally replied with a slight shrug.

"Oliver can come?" Felicity questioned to make sure that she was on the same page.

Maria nodded. "But he'll have to figure out some way to help, even if it's scrubbing the dishes."

"He will!" she promised. "When do we leave?" Hope was renewed within her and all she could think was that this future wasn't going to be her life anymore. Starling City wouldn't be in ruins, people wouldn't be hunted and massacred, and her kids would be alive.

"Now."

. . .

**2030 SHIED Secret Bunker – Avalon**

They had been scanned and medically both checked once they'd entered the facility. Felicity had no idea WHERE they were. She and Oliver had traveled in a vehicle with no windows that they could look out and she'd fallen asleep at one point. Then they'd been driven underground right into wherever they were and then had traveled via an old train line. They'd gotten to an unnamed stop and then walked from there. The whole thing felt like a week's worth of travel. She had no idea if Oliver knew where they were, but the truth was…she didn't care.

"I can't believe you're both here!"

Felicity looked between the two people that had been checking them over. She understood their need to be cautious. There were so many reasons to do so, which included the possibility of smuggling in a bomb to causing a mass wide infection that would require medication that they couldn't get their hands on.

"Have you been here the whole time?" Felicity asked, trying to be social. She wondered if this base had been hidden away this whole time or if they'd been smart enough to find a way to secretly construct it during the time of the sentinels. Maybe they were excited to see new people and have new social opportunities. "I'm Felicity, by the way," she said with a small smile. It was hard to push the smile forward, but the duo seemed so excited to see them and smiling seemed so easy for them.

"Oh, we know who are you!"

"I'm Leo Fitz," he introduced with a hand extended. "This is Jemma…Simmons."

Felicity shook both of their hands and looked to Oliver who seemed lost as he stared off towards the wall. She frowned and then looked towards the bright and beaming duo. "It's been a long trip here…"

"Of course it has…" Jemma told her. "Our boss should be here soon to take you to some quarters while you're here."

"You have a boss?" Oliver finally spoke up as he looked to the two.

A voice spoke up and answered the question before the duo could. "There still has to be some kind of chain of command." An older man stood behind them, he had a receding hairline and had dark hair, but it was graying. He, like Fitz and Simmons, seemed to be in a fairly good mood considering the world they were living in. Felicity did find it odd that he was dressed in a suit… They were living in a secret bunker and he was still wearing a suit? "I'm Phil Coulson… Maria told me that you might need some time to relax. I'm going to show you to your quarters, explain our rules, and then once you're up to it…we'll do a tour of the areas you're allowed in."

"Why does that sound like we're in a prison?"

Felicity turned to Oliver and put her hand on his shoulder. "Oliver," she whispered. They'd just gotten there and she felt like he was attacking the people that were trying to help them save the future. Didn't that matter to him? She realized, though, that he'd flat out told her that he didn't have hope…or faith…that he WANTED it though…

"I can understand why you might think that," Coulson told him with an even and almost gentle tone. "When we first came here, a lot of us felt like that. We didn't realize that we were the lucky ones…"

"He's right," Fitz spoke up.

Coulson shrugged. "The world is not what it once was…but we're trying to get it back to that…"

"I think we'd ALL like that," Oliver said. "But just how likely is that?"

"Maybe you'd rather skip the resting portion of things, then we can move on to the tour part…and part of the tour is seeing exactly what we've been prepping for here…" Coulson told him. "It's taken us eleven years to get this point. Originally we came online before the sentinels were ever constructed… SHIELD has always been good at hearing rumors and trying to get ahead of the game. That doesn't always happen, but this time…it did…" He was quiet then. "I know you've been through quite a lot over the past few years…we all have…we have all lost people and even though I haven't personally lost children…I know how that can affect you…and how that can eat at you—"

"Coulson's the one who started to think about this back in 2024," Simmons spoke up. "All those years before, this place was just used as a bunker… They stored food and tried to keep SHIELD going as best as they could as an underground organization of sorts…" She held up a hand. "I promise you this isn't a prison…and you'll be amazed at what they have gotten done so far…"

"If you are disappointed or…you just don't feel comfortable…I can make arrangements for you to be taken out of here without any harm coming to you," Coulson explained. He stared at Oliver for a moment. "I'm sure you understand our hesitation to reveal ourselves and then to just let people leave here…"

"I understand the need to keep people safe," Oliver replied.

Coulson nodded. "Then I think we're on the same page." He motioned in the direction he'd come from. "Shall we start our tour?"

"Yes, please," Felicity spoke up and she took Oliver's hand. She looked at him and could tell that he'd softened a bit. She wasn't suspicious, but she understood why he was. All she kept thinking about was how they HAD to change the past, so that they could have a different future…or present, as it were.

"FitzSimmons, coming along?" Coulson asked before heading down the hallway.

This was just the beginning, she tried to remind herself before she and Oliver started to follow him.

The facility was HUGE. Felicity had NO idea how they'd kept it hidden for so long. It had to have been because they had been using it since 2019 and that the government hadn't had a log of every SHIELD facility at the time. When they scanned the area, it must have been shielded and/or just looked like it normally looked. Whatever they'd done, they'd done a good job to keep it safe and a secret from the government. She was more than impressed and it really did help her to be hopeful about everything working.

Eventually, they made it into a huge open space. There were workstations everywhere and Felicity found herself wanting to touch EVERYTHING. She couldn't help the feeling; it had been so long since her fingers had touched a keyboard. Technology used to be a big part of her life, but it hadn't been since they'd been on the run. They'd lived without tech because tech could be traced, but this…it was like Christmas…or a technology wonderland…

"You've missed it," Oliver whispered.

She looked from all the beauty of the old and outdated equipment and then looked to her husband at her side. He was staring at her and he almost seemed a little happy. Happy…it was such a foreign concept to them… "It feels wrong to say it, but yes…" she replied quietly. "I was good at it…"

"You're good at a lot of things, Felicity," he reminded.

"Where is everyone?" Fitz asked.

The lab was quiet and seemed to be empty. It wasn't until there was a huge crash, which was followed by a long string of cussing.

"Tony's still here," Simmons announced almost too cheerily.

Felicity looked over at the woman and realized that she used to be a lot like Jemma. She used to be the always optimistic and cheerful one. It was hard to think that anyone could be like that in the world that they lived in, but she was sure that finding something to be happy about everyday did help you live life and to not be so miserable. Felicity used to be able to do that…now that seemed like a lifetime before.

"You okay?"

She shook her head and realized that everyone was staring at her. "Sorry…just sort of zoned out…"

"It happens to all of us," Jemma told her. "Plus, you have had quite the trip…"

"We can still let you settle in first," Coulson offered.

"Felicity?" Oliver asked and she could tell that he was genuinely concerned about her.

She squeezed his hand for a moment. "I'm fine, really… I'm tired, but I want to meet Mr. Stark…if we can?"

"Maybe Coulson should go first," Jemma said. "Just to make sure that things are okay…"

Coulson seemed not thrilled with that suggestion, but he did so anyways. He headed off in the direction that the loud crash had come from.

"I know everything is outdated," Fitz said as he motioned around. "But it still does the job…"

Felicity looked around and so wanted to run her hand along the side of the nearest monitor and let her fingertips caress the keys. There were bits of tech all around her and she didn't know what it was all meant for, but she just wanted to sit down and try to work with things. She remembered when hacking and just doing what they did in the Foundry was almost relaxing. Not all of the time, but some of the time… When the pressure wasn't high and it wasn't life and death…

"I'm sure it does," Felicity said. "I just hope I still know how to use one competently enough.

"Isn't it like riding a bike?" Oliver asked.

Felicity, Fitz, and Simmons just looked at him. "Not exactly," Felicity said. "I mean, I'll figure it out…but it's definitely not the same." For a moment, Felicity had a feeling like she was home again. She knew that it was because of the technology and that Jemma reminded her of herself. It was sort of nice, but then she'd remember everything…everything that had gone wrong…and everything that made her cry at night…

Tommy.

Madelyn.

Coulson returned a moment later. "So, before I take you over to the lab that has been turned into a complete disaster…seriously, you need to watch where you step…" He paused for a moment. "Tony is a bit…"

"I think most people use the term…eccentric," Jemma spoke up.

"I use the word loony," Fitz said quite matter of factly.

"You're really not painting a very—"

"Sane?"

"I was going to say nice picture…" Jemma told them. Felicity watched them and she could tell that they were close. She figured that you had to be if you lived down there together for so long. "But I think it's hard to expect people not to be broken in some way with how much it seems like the sentinels have taken from people…"

"Maria told me that you have your own memorial wall," Coulson said and that seemed to stop Fitz and Simmons from talking. "We have one of our own… Maybe we should go there first. Give Tony a few minutes…"

Felicity really wasn't sure if she could handle seeing another memorial, but at the same time…theirs had become more therapeutic in some ways. At least it seemed to help while she'd been waiting in limbo for Maria Hill to reappear and basically tell her whether she should have hope or not. She already KNEW that Tony Stark had lost three children. It was hard to function after you lost children, especially in such a senseless and gruesome way. His children were close in age to Tommy and Madelyn. She didn't know the exact way he'd lost his, if they'd been killed in front of him…but it was beyond difficult no matter what.

"I would like that," Felicity spoke up and looked between them all.

. . .

**2030 Memorial, SHIELD Secret Bunker – Avalon**

When they arrived, there were others there and for the first time, Felicity felt like she was intruding. Back at Saint James Station under Starling City where their memorial was, it was rare when more than one or two people shared the same space. Felicity suddenly wondered how many people lived in that bunker. It was obvious that SHIELD had taken steps and precautions in order to hold out long term if they'd been around since before the sentinels went crazy.

Coulson guided them over to a wall similar to theirs that had all of the names of the children that died the same day theirs did. Tears fell from Felicity's eyes as she took in pictures. There weren't many, but there were pictures of a couple of families next to some of the names. She noticed right away that there was a picture by the Stark children's names. She stared at them; all of the children were red heads with bright blue eyes and looked so happy. Felicity suddenly realized that their mother was down there, she'd seen her…

Felicity turned to look to her right to see the woman in the photo standing next to Coulson. She looked back to the wall to take in the other photos. There were other pictures and Felicity wished that they had pictures to put up for everyone they knew. Felicity had ONE picture of their family and she just couldn't give it up. It was too precious to her. She had no pictures of Diggle's family or of Sara's… She realized that with the massacre…and all of the killing…that some of the people would never be remembered more than just for their names...and that seemed so wrong to Felicity. There were still pictures in existence from the early nineteen hundreds, but they didn't have them now…she just hoped that in the future (if for some reason they failed to change their present) that they would look back onto the past and question the time of the sentinels.

Oliver stepped forward, Felicity watched him closely, his fingers ran along Tommy and Madelyn's names for a moment. She didn't know where he got it from, but Oliver pulled out the same picture that she had and wasn't willing to give up. He looked around suddenly. "Does anyone have tape or something?" Oliver asked and turned his attention towards Coulson.

"We've been gluing them up," the woman spoke up. "If you don't mind it being permanent…"

"We're here to change everything…this is the last time I want to see my children's name in memorial…" Oliver explained.

The woman nodded and held up a finger before disappearing for a moment.

Felicity turned her attention back to Oliver. "I didn't realize you had that picture…"

"I wanted to keep them close," Oliver told her.

"It's a lovely picture," Jemma said suddenly. "And I'm SO sorry for your loss…"

"They were older…when we lost them," Oliver said. "Tommy was ten…and Maddie was six…"

It was so odd for Felicity to hear him talk about them. They just didn't talk about them. It wasn't like it would change what had happened, but it was hard for them to be together since they had lost them… Felicity didn't blame Oliver, even though at one point she could think of a whole list of reasons WHY it COULD have been his fault…but then she had come to her senses. That list of over two hundred children's names had reminded her that no one in the world was safe from the madness, chaos, and uncontrollable evil that was the world that they lived in. It was just too hard to really be as close as they once was…it was like a huge part of both of them was missing. A blackness that was trying to take over the rest of what was left of them…

He looked right at her now. "I almost lost everything that day…"

Felicity couldn't breathe for a moment. That was definitely something that they tried to avoid talking about. The fact that she almost died with Madelyn and Tommy on that day and she was somehow saved…that had been extremely hard for her to live with for a long time…it was still hard. To leave Oliver alone, though, if she'd been given a choice in that moment…Felicity didn't know if she could have decided to selfishly die then.

The next thing she knew, Oliver was gluing up their picture next to their children's names. She realized that it helped to make the memorial look more complete… It also made her feel suddenly like she wasn't alone in her mourning as she looked at the other pictures of the other families up on that wall.

"Phil, do you think we could have a moment?" the woman asked. Felicity knew that she knew her name, but she just couldn't remember it at the moment.

"Sure," Coulson said after a moment. "We'll head back towards the lab."

Coulson, Fitz, and Simmons left them. Felicity and Oliver turned their attention to the woman. She felt like she should say something, but she just couldn't think of the right words. Felicity didn't know her and the standard 'I'm sorry for your loss' just didn't seem right to say. It wasn't that it wouldn't be sincere because Felicity knew EXACTLY how she felt, but rather it just didn't seem to convey the empathy she felt for her.

"We were unsure about your coming here at first," she told them. "I've met other who have lost a child…" She paused for a moment. "It breaks something inside of you and some people have just been past the point of being able to contribute and being positive in ANY way." She paused again and looked like she was trying to hold herself together. "We KNOW that being positive isn't easy in ANY way. Here, it's necessary in order to make anything work…for the project to be successful…for us to keep any of this from happening."

"I'll admit," Felicity spoke up, her voice breaking. "Hope and positivity was something that had died in me when I lost my children… THIS is what I'm living for, knowing that if this works…my children will never die in my arms." She wiped away the tears that had fallen. Felicity was embarrassed about crying, it was more that it had surprised her. She hadn't realized she was crying.

"I—" Oliver started and then stopped.

Felicity grabbed his hand as she stared at him. It was hard, she knew that. She wanted him to know that she was right there for him. This was the first time that it seemed like Oliver was okay with living and might actually feel hopeful…at least she hoped so.

"I didn't think I could HAVE hope again," Oliver admitted.

"You met Leo and Jemma," the woman told them. "They didn't lose children, but these pictures," she told them. "These pictures…your picture that you just put up…are what motivates them."

"How close are they to make whatever it is to work?" Oliver questioned.

"You'll have to talk to Tony about that," she told him.

"He's your husband?"

She gave the smallest hint of a smile. "Yes," she confirmed. "I'm sure Leo and Jemma have already warned you about him." She bowed her head for a moment and wiped her own tears away. "He's consumed with the project…the less sleep he gets, the more I need to be in the lab as a buffer for his personality." She paused. "Losing children just affects all of us differently…with how we cope…how we deal with living in a world without them."

It was hell.

Hell without end.

Death was the only escape.

"I HOPE that I can be helpful," Oliver told her. "I'm better with arrows…"

"I'll make sure there's something you can do," she assured. She stopped and then seemed to realize something. "I'm Pepper, by the way." She held out her hand and Felicity thought that it must have been the most normal introduction they'd seen in years.

Oliver shook her hand. "Oliver Queen."

Pepper then offered her hand to Felicity next, she shook it. "Felicity," she informed her.

"We should probably go meet up with the others," Pepper told them after a moment. Even though she'd shed tears, Felicity still felt like Pepper was a stronger woman compared to her. She seemed so together like Maria Hill had. Pepper's red hair was pulled neatly back into a ponytail. She wore clean clothes: dark jeans, a pink shirt, a SHIELD jacket like Hill had been wearing, and running shoes. "Bruce will probably be there by now…" she explained as she pointed to another picture on the memorial wall. The picture was of a dark haired man, woman, and baby. The picture was glued up next to Kylie Banner's name. "He's like my other husband."

"His wife—" Felicity started to ask.

"She didn't make it."

It was best to ask Pepper now, Felicity thought. She looked at the line with the little girl's name and realized that she'd only been three years old when she'd been murdered. Kylie Banner had been one of the youngest… "If it works, they'll all be alive," Felicity whispered. Her hand went to touch the fabric of her shirt, a locket rested underneath. Those words were more of a reminder for herself than anyone else.

"I like to think that all of us here are a family," Pepper told Felicity. "Some of us have known each other longer. Some of us read the same books. Some of us know the same pain that some others feel. In the end, we all want the same thing…"

Without any more conversation, Pepper led them out of the memorial and back the way they'd come to the lab area. She headed back where Coulson had gone and they found two men and what looked like a robot. Felicity knew that they were Tony and Bruce from their pictures at the memorial; their hair was just going grey now. "I thought we weren't going to explode things anymore," Pepper said to the two men with a sigh.

"It was JARVIS' fault," Tony defended quickly as he pointed to the metal robot.

"This time it REALLY was JARVIS' fault," Bruce told Pepper.

The robot started to speak with an entirely too proper English accent. "My systems are not at one hundred percent," JARVIS explained. "We lack the sufficient resources necessary for the proper maintenance and upgrades that my systems require."

"We have new friends," Pepper told them and turned so that she could motion between Oliver and Felicity and Tony, Bruce, and JARVIS. "Tony and Bruce, this is Oliver and Felicity Queen." She paused for a moment. "Oliver and Felicity, Tony Stark and Bruce Banner."

"Don't forget about JARVIS," Tony said as he patted the red and gold robot beside him. "He's normally more awesome and impressive." Tony looked straight at them. "Please tell me that one of you specializes in robotics."

"Computers," Felicity said as she held up her hand."

"Arrows," Oliver added.

"Do you wear purple, too?" Tony asked.

Oliver looked confused. "No," he said quietly and slowly. He was still confused. "I used to wear green."

"Green!" Tony exclaimed as he shot up to his feet and started to move things around. "We LOVE green! Don't we, Bruce? We do! One of the best colors!" He moved some screens around for a moment. "What did you call yourself?"

"The Arrow."

"Not the GREEN Arrow?" Tony asked and seemed disappointed.

"No."

Tony turned to Felicity. "How about you? Have a cool codename?"

"Oracle," Felicity said quietly.

"I think we're going to like you two," Tony said as he messed with what looked like code on his screens. "Aren't we, JARVIS?"

"Yes, Sir," JARVIS responded politely.

Bruce made a face and turned to them. "He's not always like that."

"Why lie?" Pepper asked him. Her tone was gentle and matter of fact.

"It's Tony," Bruce admitted. "It's just a force of habit…"

. . .

TBC…


	5. One Step At A Time

**2030 Science Lab, Secret SHIELD Bunker – Avalon**

Felicity was studying the project board with the scientists involved on the project. It was filled with equations, codes, blueprints, and random sketches that looked like they'd been done on napkins. Out of everyone there, Felicity was fairly sure that she was the only one who really didn't belong. Everyone else was a genius and she knew that Oliver would tell her differently. In their world, she had been a computer genius…but in this world…it wouldn't matter unless they saved everything…

Tony clapped his hands together once before turning towards them. "Okay, we need to—to—um…to do something."

Already, Felicity knew how this worked. Tony HAD ideas and such, but he was much better at communicating what he wanted or what he was thinking by putting it down on paper or building something. Bruce was the one who talked reason and actually seemed to be the one who communicated. Felicity wondered if this was what Pepper meant about Bruce being like another husband. Tony seemed absolutely brilliant, but broken…and Bruce sort of made up for everything Tony lacked…

"We need to triple check everything on this board," Bruce said as he pointed to the board. "We also need a list of materials we'll need, plus we'll also need to figure out how many people can go through the portal…and how they will be affected going through it."

"Fitz, you take the board," Simmons said. "Felicity can help you."

Felicity nodded. Fitz and Simmons were so in sync, it amazed her. She understood why Coulson and some of the others referred to them as one, FitzSimmons. Sometimes she got a little jealous, they seemed to have been shielded in a huge way from the horrors of the world, but at the same time…she'd been able to freely love and for what seemed like a brief moment…she had this perfect family and life. She just hoped that if this all worked that they would be given a second chance to actually live outside of the science lab.

She moved with Fitz to his workspace, which was right next to Simmons'. The only thing that really distinguished the computer areas was that Jemma had a little TARDIS on her desk. It was cute and it did help in trying not to get too lost in how tragic life had become beyond those walls…it almost helped give a little more hope. No matter what, it made her smile when she'd see it. A piece of home.

"Okay, so do you want to work on the computer code? Make sure that everything looks right?" Fitz asked.

"JARVIS ran it already, so I know it HAS to be right, but I'll do it again," Felicity told him with a nod as she borrowed Jemma's computer station. Their computers had basically become giant calculators and processors, but really that was all they needed. "What about the blueprints?"

"When we go to make the list of supplies, we can both check it over," Fitz told her as he looked over from his screen.

They worked for hours to make sure that everything was checked and checked again. They were working with geniuses, but even a genius made mistakes sometimes or just couldn't see quite around their box. They'd all contributed in some way to the project so far, so it wasn't just Tony or Bruce who had dreamed it up. It was truly a collaborative project and as it got closer to being completed, the more hopeful Felicity got.

It just worked better when they worked in their own small groups; it tended to make things run smoother. Anything with Tony tended to bring tension and a lack of talking or being productive in anyway. That's why he always stuck with Bruce and JARVIS and also why Pepper tended to hang around a lot of the time. Working so much in the lab hadn't given her a lot of time to see Oliver, but she knew that he was okay. She'd noticed a change in him, maybe just because he felt a sense of purpose and hope… Whatever it was, she'd missed it.

"So, I'm fairly sure that the calculations are still coming up the same," Simmons announced. "The portal will only be strong enough to transport one person, one way, and the side affects aren't very good…"

"And by very good you mean?" Fitz asked.

Bruce and Tony had left to try to catch a nap, so there really was no harm in them discussing it amongst themselves. When the others returned, they'd pass on their findings like they always did.

"Death," Simmons said matter of factly. "I mean, whoever goes through will have an hour…maybe three…but they'll be suffering the whole time. It'll make them physically ill…I can't even begin to speculate the EXACT type of symptoms except that they'll be bad…"

"Well, that's cheery."

Felicity knew that it sounded all brimstone and end of the world, but the truth was that they didn't NEED a lot of time. "We can program the location that the person arrives at, right?"

"That's probably the EASIEST thing TO program on this thing," Fitz reminded her as he motioned to the board. "What does that matter, though?"

"For example," Felicity said as she looked between them. "IF Simmons were the one to go back. We would just have to send her somewhere where she knew that she could locate Coulson and you, Fitz… For most of us, that's a set location—"

"We were on a plane then," Simmons told her. "ALWAYS traveling."

"Bad example, but you understand," Felicity told them. "We wouldn't need more than three hours… We would just need to find the person we know we can convince, tell them everything, maybe write it down, and prepare them to fight the future…"

"You make it sound so easy!" Fitz practically complained.

"Why make it difficult?" Felicity asked. She realized a moment later that they were both smiling at her. "What? What did I say?"

"You just reminded us of someone," Simmons told her. "A friend."

"Someone who didn't make it here?"

They both looked so sad suddenly. "She was reassigned. Her name was Skye." Simmons turned away for a moment and then turned back. "I told you that we used to live on a plane…with Coulson. There was a team of us. That was our family…until we got split up… Those are the people who first motivated us… All of the horrors that happened after that, they've just kept us going."

"You've never said anything before now," Felicity said quietly. "I mean, I knew that you two had to have had a family—"

"The sentinel program has been hard on all of us…" Fitz said. "But they definitely hit the family that we built more than the families we were born into…"

"Because they pretty much shoved us in here so soon, before the program even took off, they've assumed we're dead," Simmons explained. "So far…they've left our families out of the insanity… But we've always knew that that meant that we couldn't go see them."

Felicity nodded. She understood what they were talking about, about all of it. "Well, we're going to fix all of that, right?"

Jemma beamed at her. "Right!"

"We better go over the numbers one more time," Fitz said.

. . .

**2030 Memorial, Secret SHIELD Bunker – Avalon**

She went there a lot. Far more than she'd visited Saint James back in Starling City. Felicity still didn't know why that was, but something felt different. She'd also gotten used to there being other people down there, mourning their losses as well. Normally, during this hour, she'd be down there with Oliver. Oliver was busy, however, Coulson had him busy doing something. They'd both agreed to contribute and that's what they were doing. Felicity knew that she'd see him in a couple of hours when she would finally be ready to strip down and crawl into bed.

It was so odd to think about that, she thought as she sat down on a bench in the memorial area facing the wall of children's names. As almost institutionalized the facility was, it felt like living a normal life. It was the closest they'd been to one in a long time… Back at the Foundry over the last two years, their room had been the ONLY private quarters and their bed had been a yoga mat with old blankets over it. It wasn't anything fancy, but it had been all they had had.

"You're here a lot."

Felicity looked up and was surprised by who was sitting down next to her. Maria Hill. She really didn't know a lot about her. She seemed to know everyone and was close, but then they were all SHIELD or they'd worked closely with SHIELD. Everything had told her that she could trust her. There was that. "It helps…"

"It does," Maria said as she turned her eyes to the wall.

"Did you have a child?" Felicity asked as she watched her.

Tears sprung from Maria's eyes and she didn't even try to wipe them away as she continued to stare at the wall of names. Felicity had always assumed that she'd just lost people, fellow SHIELD agents…maybe family (everyone had family), but she hadn't seen her down there in the memorial.

"No," she replied after a few minutes. "But four of the children…I was close enough to be an aunt, I guess…"

Most of the children who died were only children, but there were a handful of sets of two siblings…and she only knew of the Stark children and one other family that had three children. People just didn't have as big of families when the world goes to hell. She didn't want to pry, but she also knew that mourning alone and keeping it all inside was hard to do. Maria had been there at that facility with the others, but sometimes it was nice to tell someone that you didn't know as well.

"Sometimes we make our own family," Felicity told her. "When Oliver put our picture up there on the wall…I wished that I had pictures of our friends and their children. Everything was left behind and lost, though. I didn't even know Oliver had the picture he did…and I have the same one, but I just couldn't bring myself to give it up. It's the last thing that I have to remind me of them…even if they were older…"

"I saw them die," Maria confessed as she looked right at Felicity.

"Who?" she pressed and then immediately felt guilty. "You don't have to tell me. I'm just trying to—"

"The Stark children… Sophia, Charlie, Ethan… Kylie Banner…" Maria told him. "After SHIELD went under because of Hydra…we all had to find other jobs. Civilian jobs…" She paused for a moment, as if waiting to make sure that Felicity was still listening. "I started to work with the Starks, mainly as Pepper's security. I went everywhere with them before everything started to go to hell. I even was there at the hospital for every one of those kids' births… I was even present for Kylie's birth…like really present…" She paused again and just seemed so lost and so sad. "We were finally coming here… They were going to be the first children allowed in these walls… We were so close…and then the sentinels came…"

Felicity didn't need to hear every detail to know that all four of the children were killed. She still remembered far too vividly how her children had died, holding them in her arms, feeling their blood on her hands… "We were heading to somewhere safe, too…" she whispered.

"It was an underground railroad system," Maria told her. "Coulson started it. He'd get people to a safe house where they'd erase their identities and then build them new ones." She was quiet. "Eventually, everyone was supposed to end up here… Fury even had had plans to expand the facility, if necessary…"

"I didn't know that."

Maria nodded and wiped tears away. "Not a lot of people DID know about it. They called it Operation: Genesis. It was supposed to preserve the future…" She shook her head. "We failed…" She looked directly at Felicity now. "We ALL failed."

And Felicity knew that she was right.

. . .

TBC…


	6. Of Bedtime Stories and Nightmares

**2015 - Stark Tower, New York**

"You DO realize that just because we're married doesn't mean that I HAVE to go by Stark."

"But we're married!"

"JARVIS is STILL calling me Ms. Potts."

"It's MY system and somehow YOU got to override even ME?"

This was generally what she had the privilege to listen to for a majority of the day. She worked as Stark Industries' security along with Happy, as well as Pepper's personal security. Maria was fairly sure that Tony Stark and Pepper Potts' 'discussions' had only become more frequent since they'd married a couple of months before. Her job DID have its perks though. She received excellent pay, benefits, respect, entertainment, paid meals, and plenty of time to sit and read. It was amazing the amount of novels she'd purchased during her time with SHIELD that she was never able to read. She hadn't even OPENED them. Maria had nearly read her whole stack since beginning working with the Starks.

"You DO realize that you could read that on a table, right?"

This was something that Tony enjoyed going over everyday. "Not quite the same," Maria replied.

"Oh, leave her alone," Pepper told him gently. "She has a tablet-"

"EXACTLY!" Tony exclaimed.

Maria smiled and shook her head as she watched Pepper spend all of their time in New York, but the house in Malibu wasn't quite complete with its reconstruction yet. She didn't mind going in between or even travelling elsewhere with the Starks. She'd actually missed the travel.

Civilian life was not easy. She kept in contact with others as best as she could, but it wasn't the same. Maria actually found herself missing the SHIELD uniform every morning, there were far too many outfit combinations to choose from. She had regretted buying more than a closet full of black suits and white blouses. She carried a weapon, but Tony didn't like it. Maria had been concerned about being able to properly protect Pepper and she felt naked without her sidearm. That wasn't all of it, she missed the action. Maria knew, though, that she couldn't have asked for a better job after SHIELD fell to Hydra. Of course, she knew that at the moment that wasn't possible. SHIELD had to be rebuilt and that took time.

"Time to go," she announced. It was more of a command than a suggestion. Maria liked to keep the Starks on their schedule, which was easy when it was just Pepper… Staying on time meant that she KNEW what to expect. Between her phone and her tablet, she had access to apps and cameras within the buildings that all told her everything she needed to know and what to expect. She could keep them alive if she knew what to expect.

"What's on the calendar exactly?" Tony asked. "Because Bruce just texted me…he's actually IN civilization and I was thinking we could work here and order in Chinese."

Pepper and Maria let out an audible and collective sigh. This was typical of Tony, but when it came down to it…Pepper was her priority. "Catching our flight back to California," Pepper reminded. "We're supposed to meet with the contractors in the morning."

"The private jet isn't going to run away," Tony told Pepper. He received looks from both Pepper and Maria for his comedic efforts. "Anyways, good thing I never leave home without a suit. I can just fly over in the morning. See? Problem solved."

"Uh huh…"

"What? JARVIS can wake me."

"There's a reason why I block your schedule out until a specific time."

"Genius doesn't keep normal hours," Tony told her. "I can't help it."

Maria couldn't contain her laugh, but Tony didn't seem to care. Watching the two of them was sometimes like watching television. The occasional outburst couldn't be helped. Especially when it came to the things that came out of Tony's mouth.

As if on cue, Happy appeared. "The car's downstairs and ready. Pepper, your bags are already in the car. Yours too, Maria." His attention moved to Tony. "But someone didn't pack...again."

Tony looked confused. "Maria and Pepper did that plotting thing last time and packed me that bag...for instances like this one...that can go."

"It wasn't in the closet," Happy reported.

Pepper let out another frustrated sigh. "Tony…"

"What? I didn't do anything," he argued. He held up his hands in defense. "I haven't even accidentally blown up something today...or caused any accidental casualties in the process."

The sad thing was that that was actually a big deal. Tony Stark was a genius billionaire, but the biggest thing going for him was Pepper. Maria hadn't met Tony in the early days back when Fury, Natasha, and Coulson were handling things...but she'd heard stories. Even after New York, she could see that he'd changed. Marriage didn't suit everyone, but it had done wonders with Tony Stark. Even if his relationship with Pepper wasn't perfect in the way that the outside world stereotyped, it was perfect for them.

It was different for heroes.

Maria knew that most in the world knew Pepper Potts as the CEO of Stark Industries and wife to Tony Stark. The truth was, Pepper had done much since the birth of Iron Man to give her the honor that title...the babysitting aside. Maria knew all of the reports practically by heart. She'd felt the need to research when she'd first applied for the job.

In two thousand eight, Obadiah Stane tried to have Tony Stark assassinated so he could take over Stark Industries. What he really did was create heroes. Pepper was the one who blew the arc reactor at Stark Industries, which in the end was what stopped Stane (AKA the Iron Monger). In two thousand ten, Pepper took over as CEO of Stark Industries and likely saved the company. She saw to it that Justin Hammer was arrested, who was ultimately behind Ivan Vanko (AKA Wiplash). She stayed behind in the chaos of a hacked War Machine and sabotaged weapons display at the Stark Expo to make sure that the expo was clear, never a thought about her own safety. Though Pepper wasn't with the Avengers when everything in two thousand twelve, Maria had seen Pepper and Tony after. There was no doubt in her mind that Pepper was his heart and most likely the only reason he'd had his almost self sacrificing moment. Tony was also sober (or at least he wasn't drinking anywhere near as much as he once did). In two thousand thirteen, the Malibu mansion had been destroyed. Pepper had saved Tony after he'd saved her by encasing her in his Iron Man suit. Pepper had also been instrumental in destroying Aldrich Killian (AKA the real Mandarin). Pepper Potts was definitely a hero.

"Look, you're going to ruin the surprise," Tony told them. "You're already sort of ruining it by making me tell you there IS a surprise."

Pepper sighed. "That's not making me feel any better about going without you."

"Fine," Tony groaned. "It's a surprise for YOU," he told Pepper. He smiled suddenly.

"Not a giant rabbit, right?"

"It wouldn't fit."

Maria shook her head. She'd already heard all about the giant rabbit Christmas fiasco. The bunny's demise was pretty much the ONLY good thing that came from the destruction of the mansion in Malibu.

"Are you sure it's for me?" Pepper asked. "Or something that you got for you-"

"I'm making it," Tony told her quickly.

"You're making it…?" she asked slowly.

"Metal. Red. Gold-ish," Tony told her. "That's all I'm telling you."

"And Bruce is supervising?"

"Supervising isn't the term I'd use," Tony said as he scrunched up his face. "But if that's what you need to hear to feel better about it, then sure...he's supervising." He held up a hand and quickly added a moment later. "But don't text him those words...it'll go to his head."

"Ah," Pepper replied and Maria could hear it in her voice that she was trying to hold back a laugh. "Well, you two have fun...but behave and PLEASE-"

"We won't blow up the building! Promise!"

"I was hoping for not blowing up ANYTHING."

"Yeah, we can work on that, too," Tony said quickly. "You two go. Enjoy the jet. Do something fun tonight."

Pepper seemed to be appeased enough or she just figured that there was no use arguing with Tony Stark. They'd just end up being there all night, Maria knew because she'd witnessed it before and Maria really didn't want to go through that again. She was fairly sure that Pepper didn't want that either. THey'd only both end up with migraines.

"Just call me," Pepper told Tony before embracing him for a long moment. They exchanged a kiss and she seemed to stare at him for some time. Maria suddenly wondered if this was the first time they'd really been apart since the Mandarin, but KNEW that Tony had been on Iron Man missions since then, it just felt like that in that moment.

"I will call and text you updates," Tony promised as they separated. "JARVIS is going to remind me," he added as he raised his finger. "Right, JARVIS?"

"Would you like an update on the hour, Ms. Potts?" JARVIS questioned.

"I think every two hours is just fine, JARVIS," Pepper spoke up with a smile.

"Reminder saved."

Maria took that as a cue to peek at the time, so she could somewhat keep track of when Tony SHOULD be checking in. "Well, now that we've sorted that out," Maria said. "Time to go. We ready, Happy?" She turned to see that Happy Hogan had sat down and made himself comfortable on the couch. She suddenly felt like they were never leaving, but then Happy was far more used to how things worked with the Starks.

"Right," Happy said with a sigh. He got to his feet and headed for the elevator. "Right! Let's go!"

Pepper gave Tony a quick kiss. "See you soon," she told him and headed for the elevator too.

"Hill! You're going to protect wife, right?" Tony called.

Groaning, Maria stopped and turned to him. "It's not my first day."

"Not exactly the answer I was looking for."

"Don't worry, Tony," Maria told him. "Pepper's safety is my number one priority...which is why I'm going to go and keep my eyes on her and protect her right now," she said as she motioned in the direction of Happy and Pepper. Maria jogged after them a moment later. She managed to catch up with them as the elevator doors opened.

"I was thinking dinner once we land," Pepper told her. "What do you think? Happy already has plans and the hotel suite's already set up."

"I did double check to make sure the reservation is in place and all measures are in place for your security."

Pepper smiled sweeter. "So, how about dinner? You and me?" Pepper paused for a moment. "I understand though if you need time alone-"

"No," Maria said quickly. "It sounds good to me." She and Pepper routinely took meals at the office, but this was different. The truth of it was that Maria really did enjoy Pepper's company. "It'll be like a girl's night."

Pepper grinned. "Let's just not tell Tony about it."

"Oh, you don't have to worry about ME telling Tony," Happy told them as they entered the elevator and he selected the correct button. "I'll somehow be convinced to spy on you and report back to Tony...and I'm looking forward to my plans tonight."

"Would it help if you're given counter orders now?" Maria asked.

Happy looked confused. "What kind of counter orders?"

"Happy," Pepper said. "IF Tony asks you to spy on our dinner, then I am ordering you to tell Tony you're going to and then go back to what you're doing."

"What happens when he wants updates?"

"Turn off your phone."

Maria spoke up this time. "I've got tonight covered."

"And don't pick up the room phone," Pepper told him. "If we're trying to get a message to you then we'll leave it at the front desk or have someone relay it."

"Tony just has to make vacation complicated," Happy complained.

"This isn't vacation, Happy," Pepper told him and now they were the confused ones.

"It IS from Tony."

Maria laughed and patted Happy's shoulder. "Have I mentioned how much I like working with you?"

"You know who else enjoyed working with me?"

"Pepper?"

"Natasha."

. . .

**2019 - Stark Mansion, Malibu**

"Story! Story!"

Maria Hill sometimes felt like a nanny rather than a personal guard. Over four years, the Stark family had grown, it now included a three year old and one year old. Both girls had the fair complexion, the bright eyes, and the red hair like their mother. There was also no way that you couldn't love those girls.

"I thought your mother said not to bother Ms. Hill with story requests," Happy said as he entered the bedroom.

Even though they had the space, both girls shared one room. It made sense with them beign so close in age plus Maria liked them being in the same location in case something happened in the middle of the night. At first, she'd had her own place, but it ended up being easier on everyone to live wherever the Starks lived. Protecting Pepper had turned into protecting a family.

"I think Pepper prefers unicorns and princess stories over war stories," Maria told him with a smile. She had never been one for princesses, unicorns, pink and purple, or sparkles.

"What book are we reading?" Happy asked three year old Sophia as Maria head out of the room.

"Fury!" Sophia spoke up.

"I was thinking more _The Princess and the Frog_ or _The Littlest Unicorn_," Happy said.

Maria stopped at the door and turned. "Where were we?"

"Under the water."

Maria smiled. "So...Fitz and Simmons-"

"One's a girl, right?"

Nodding, she smiled a little brighter. "Yes. Jemma Simmons."

"Is she like a princess?"

"They're both scientists."

"A scientist can be a princess."

Maria stared at the little girl. Sophia was certainly an intelligent and advanced child, though given who her parents were she didn't know why she was so surprised. "I suppose you're right," she conceded.

"So?"

"So," she said slowly. "Jemma and Leo were trapped underwater in a box."

"What kind of box."

"A box that was supposed to keep them safe," Maria told her.

"Was it blue?"

"No."

"Was it bigger on the inside?"

Maria sighed, "No." A beat passed. "It wasn't the TARDIS, though I'm sure they wished for one." She paused in case there were any more questions. When Sophia remained silent, Maria continued. "There wasn't enough air in the box, so Leo gave Jemma the special breathing device, so she could swim to the surface.

Sophia popped up in her bed and covered one of her eyes with the palm of her little hand. "Is this the part with Fury?"

"Not quite yet."

The little girl sighed and flopped back on her pillow. "Continue...please."

"So, Jemma used the device and swam to the surface, but she made sure she took Leo with her," Maria explained. "Leo was asleep when they got to the surface and Jemma was worried he was hurt, but then-"

"Fury!"

Maria sighed. "If you KNOW this story, then why am I telling it?"

"You're just better at it," Happy spoke up with a smile.

"Well, I should go," Maria told them.

"More!" Sophia shouted. "Please?"

"More TOMORROW," she said. "Good night."

"Night."

Maria left the girls' room and headed downstairs. She had something that she needed to discuss not only with Tony and Pepper, but Bruce as well. SHIELD wasn't anywhere near where it once was, but Coulson was slowly rebuilding it. She'd gotten word about a new facility opening and some concerning rumors. Maria found them discussing the tweaks Tony had done to the Rescue armor down in the workshop.

"Hey Maria," Bruce greeted with a smile.

"Hi," she greeted back. No matter how terrifying his counterpart was, Bruce Banner was always the sweetest person. She had NO idea how he could put up with Tony like he did. Maria knew that Bruce had someone in his life and she didn't know how he'd react to her idea. Bruce's life hadn't been easy and this would mean that he wouldn't have to run or hide out in far corners of the world where no one knew who he was. He could be like everyone else. "Can I talk to the three of you?"

"You're not quitting, right? Because I CAN TRY to be less annoying," Tony spoke up. "TRY."

"No, I'm not quitting," Maria said slowly and was confused. She wondered if Tony really worried about her quitting that much. "I wanted to talk to you about my recent trip."

"Did you go and visit Coulson?" Tony asked.

Pepper smiled. "How is Phil?"

"Why is he always Phil?" Tony asked Pepper.

Maria shook her head at the exchange. "Yes, I DID see Director Coulson." It was still odd to her for Coulson to be the Director of SHIELD even though Fury made that change some time ago. It had been years and it was still hard for her to really remember. "SHIELD has a secret location-"

"Only one?"

She ignored him and continued. "The facility's been codenamed is Avalon. SHIELD might be moving a lot of its people there… Coulson wants all three of you there."

"We have jobs," Pepper reminded. "I really don't think we could balance one more thing."

"It's not a JOB," Maria clarified. "It's more like an emergency bunker. There's rumors flying that something bad is coming… Coulson wants you three and your loved ones at Avalon. There's facilities for the children and I swear half of the facility is just science labs...so you two shouldn't be bored…"

"For how long?" Pepper asked as her face turned to worry.

"I don't know."

All that she knew was that there were rumors about some kind of super weapon and it seemed to Coulson like the Avengers and those closest to them really needed to hole up together. One thing she knew for sure was that Coulson wouldn't decide such a thing unless he really thought it was necessary. He wasn't one to be reckless or jump too quickly to conclusions. They might not know all the facts, but it was obvious that Coulson had a bad feeling about what was coming.

"You just want us to leave our lives behind?" Pepper asked.

"I can't just ask Betty to come with me," Bruce added. "To give up her life and come hide away somewhere…"

"I wouldn't be suggested it if I didn't think that it was a good option," Maria reinforced. "You all KNOW Coulson-"

"I'm still not quite over the whole letting us think that he was dead thing," Tony spoke up.

"We've been over this. He WAS dead. Fury had him brought back...don't ask me all the details. I don't know them," Maria said quickly with a wave of her hand. "The point IS-"

"I think we can handle whatever comes together," Tony told her. "What about Thor? Steve? Clint? Natasha?" he rattled off quickly, almost too quickly.

"Natasha and Clint are with Coulson and I assume Steve as well," Maria informed him. "I have no idea about Thor though. He might be in Asgard."

"Doesn't he have a girlfriend?"

"Jane," Pepper, Maria, and Bruce all filled in at the same time.

"Yeah...her."

Maria sighed. "She COULD be with him."

"Really?" Tony asked and made a face.

"Really," Maria replied slowly.

"I just don't think it's necessary… When we've stood together, we've been unstoppable," Tony told her. "Whatever's coming...we'll face it together."

"We can't just give up everything and expect the kids to live normal lives in a SHIELD facility," Pepper added.

"Those kids are extraordinary. They'd thrive in that environment," Maria insisted. "PLUS, they DO have specially designed areas for kids… They thought it out when they were designing it-"

"What about Stark Industries?"

"I-I don't know."

"It doesn't matter because we're not going," Tony told her definitively.

. . .

**2024 - Stark Tower, New York**

It had been nearly five years since the sentinel program had been in operation and Maria Hill didn't know how the Starks didn't want to go underground. Now more than ever, they had reasons. Three reasons. Sophia (8), Charlie (6), & Ethan (1). She wasn't a mother and they weren't her children, but she didn't understand how Tony and Pepper could be so confidant that they could keep their family safe.

Every single person in the Stark household, she and Happy included, had to be registered with their act. Maria never liked that and it only told her that it was a matter of time before they'd use that data against them. That was the ONLY reason why such data would be collected. It REALLY bothered her that the government required the children to be registered as well.

"Is this going to be another lecture about how we need to move into hiding?" Tony asked. "Whenever you go to Avalon and talk to Coulson, that's always your line… You know you CAN go and be part of SHIELD again. I can find a new-"

"No," Maria said firmly. "I'm not leaving… I just-Tony, I wish you'd come and see it. Talk to Coulson-"

"Stark Industries has been working to supply the government with tech, they're not going to do something stupid like come after us because I'm Iron Man," Tony told her. "I heard that Natasha, Clint, and Steve aren't even at Avalon."

"They've been out in the field," she filled in.

Tony was obviously not convinced. She really didn't know what more she could do to convince them. She wasn't going to run, though, and leave them there without the protection that they and those kids needed. If SHIELD was better formed, she'd have asked Coulson for a small detail to assist her in protecting them.

"You know that Pepper isn't going to go into hiding and make the kids live in some secret underground facility where all they'll see is cement walls…" Tony told her. "Rhodey practically lives with us now… Okay, maybe that's NOT true, but it feels like it sometimes. If something happens...we have Iron Man, War Machine, and Rescue to protect the family. We have locations to go to. I'm not going to let anything happen to my family."

"Tony-"

"I don't care what Phil...or Fury says…"

"Fury is dead."

"Sure...you keep telling me the lies."

"Even if they came here and told you IN person?" Maria questioned. She wasn't sure if she could swing it, but it didn't hurt to ask.

"Even if they were right next to you right now," Tony told her. "We have a good thing going. The company is doing the best it's done...ever. The kids are happy. Pepper's happy. So, pretty much my life is perfect."

Maria was just going to let it go, to report back in to Coulson and let him know that they were going to have to figure out a different plan. She needed to protect the Starks, but this just wasn't working. How could she protect them if they wouldn't even accept the help that she was trying to give? The help that she thought that was absolutely necessary? She watched Tony walk away and she let out a sigh. Maria was about to go to find Pepper and the kids when the TV caught her attention. She turned to it and pulled her phone out at the same time.

"Governments around the world are arresting every single person on the mutant/superhero/accomplice act. Sentinels are already picking up criminals-"

There was no more time.

**2028 - En Route to Avalon**

They had finally given up thinking that things would get better. They'd spent most of the past four years together in one of Tony's hidden away bunkers. Maria hadn't known about any of them. He had three hidden across the United States. He'd bought them with cash and had used a pseudonym when he'd made the land arrangements. All of the chips that had been placed in their arms had been removed, which had been the most traumatizing on the children. For the first year...and the second one, Maria had watched Tony and Pepper hope for a future that wouldn't hunt them AND their children down...like what happened was a big mistake. They'd barely made it out of Stark Tower before the sentinels had descended on it. She didn't ask, though, she was just thankful that everyone was safe.

Their group was a little bigger, but Maria knew that Coulson wouldn't mind. It had just taken them almost six months to travel to the location covertly. Being covert wasn't an easy thing anymore. There were seven adults and four children in their group.

"Are we there yet?" Sophia asked.

Maria looked down at the twelve year old and sometimes she had a hard time not picturing her as the three year old little girl who asked her for stories about SHIELD and Fury and trying to crossover what had been Maria's past with _Doctor Who_. This little girl who had to grow up far too fast over the past four years. "Soon," she promised as she wrapped her arm around her as they walked.

It was dark, past ten o'clock, as they walked along outside of a major city. They were close. They'd be there in time for dinner the next day. Maria was more than thrilled. Tony, Pepper, and Rhodey were at the front of the group, keeping an eye on things as they walked. She, Bruce, Betty, and Happy were following behind, the kids interspersed between them. Bruce was carrying three year old Kylie, she was fast asleep, her dark hair was covering her face. She was an adorable thing and she was certain that Bruce would appreciate not having to worry about keeping her quiet all of the time and letting her actually play like a three year old. Charlie was holding Happy's hand, Maria had noticed that it seemed like even more so on this trip the ten year old girl seemed closer to Happy than before. Ethan, who was now five, kept himself in between Happy and her for the most part. He knew that he was to keep close, just in case.

Tomorrow their lives would be vastly different.

"Will Jemma and Leo be there?" Sophia asked quietly.

"FitzSimmons will definitely be there," Maria promised with a smile as she looked down at the girl. "Last time I was there, Simmons even had a TARDIS at her workspace."

Sophia beamed. "Really?"

"They're also supposed to have a whole library of books as well as a whole server room full of digital entertainment," Maria told her. Sophia loved reading and she'd been reading the same four books over the last four years. They hadn't left the bunker often, but when Maria had...she'd always looked for things for the kids...like books. She had a feeling that Sophia was going to adjust the best when they finally got there.

"Tomorrow seems like so far away."

"I know," Maria replied. "But it'll all be worth it. I promise."

"I'll get my own room, right?"

"Maybe."

"It's been a while since I've had an actual bed...or a room…"

The buzzing alerted them before anything else. The buzzing almost made your bones vibrate or maybe that was just because they'd learned to fear them. "Everyone stay together," Pepper said as she turned to look back at them. It only took seconds before Tony, Rhodey, and Pepper were all in their suits. The armor suits were easier to carry now, they lived in the wearer's bones. All three now had a modified version of Extremis in their system. It made them stronger and faster, it helped them heal...and it also was specially designed so that they could carry the armor inside of them.

The buzzing grew louder. Panic set in, but Maria was prepared for this. They'd drilled in what to do with everyone. Everyone knew what to do. Maria knew that that was going to keep them safe.

"Maria!" Sophia shouted.

The girl had a firm grip on her and Maria immediately picked up Ethan. She put her arm around Sophia and held her close. She watched as Bruce handed Kylie to Betty as he moved towards the suits, who were now forming a ring around them in order to keep them safe. Happy had moved Charlie, so she was between him and Betty and had a hold on her. "We're going to be FINE," Maria promised the kids in a calm tone. "I want you all to remember where we're going and how tomorrow we're going to be safe...okay?" They all nodded, but she could tell that they were terrified.

Sentinels surrounded them, hovering, and Maria noticed that they were all about the same size as the armor suits. They would have known earlier if one of the original massive ones was en route a lot sooner if they were coming. Bruce changed before their eyes into the angry green Hulk and she felt Sophia tighten her grip on her. Bruce had never Hulk-ed out in front of the kids before. Not even Kylie had seen him like that.

"Identified. Tony Stark. Pepper Stark. Sophia Stark. Charlotte Stark. Ethan Stark. Bruce Banner. Betty Banner. Banner offspring. James Rhodes. Harold Hogan. Maria Hill."

Maria was shocked that the sentinels seemed to have been upgraded to be able to scan them and to figure out a relation. They KNEW that Kylie was Bruce and Betty's, but Kylie had been born while they'd been on the run. She was the only child in their group that had NEVER been registered with the government. She had NO idea what other kinds of upgrades had been added to the sentinel units since they'd been on the run.

"Remain calm. Remain still. Surrender your tech. Come peacefully."

"That's not going to happen," Tony announced.

"We do not wish to harm you. You are to be arrested under the-"

"No," Tony interrupted.

Instead of a firefight ensuing, a blast of light emitted from the sentinels towards them. It hit Iron Man, Rescue, War Machine, and the Hulk first. Finally it hit them and it didn't hurt. Suddenly, all three suits just collapsed to the ground. All that was left between them and the sentinels was the Hulk, who seemed even more enraged now. They gathered together tighter and Maria pulled out her sidearm. She knew that most weapons didn't work on sentinels, but it COULD slow them down.

"Mommy!" Sophia cried out.

"Daddy!" Charlie screamed.

Maria Hill felt like she'd prepared for this moment all of her life. Through all of her SHIELD training and keeping up with that training. Never once over the last four years had she had to use her gun, but she'd always kept it clean and ready to use. "You stay right at my side!" Maria told Sophia as she moved her behind her and readied herself to fire. The sentinels moved closer and Maria started to fire. She could hear the Hulk off to the side of her dealing with those sentinels, she just hoped that he was breaking them into tiny pieces. It would be nice to know that they didn't upgrade everything at least in Maria's mind, the Hulk had been really the best at destroying the sentinels, but inside of the cities…there were always armies of them, so the sentinels would just keep coming.

She took a moment to look over to see that the Hulk had about half of them and he had one on the ground in pieces, but that really wasn't enough. She set Ethan to the ground and made sure that he was between her and Sophia. Maria started to worry more as she reloaded her ammo and pulled out a second gun.

"It's not fazing them!" Betty cried out.

Maria looked over again and noticed that Tony, Pepper, and Rhodey were still unmoving. She'd been hoping that at least the armor would retract, but that still hadn't happened. So, she did the best that she could, kept their group tight and fired on the sentinels. They hadn't fired back or seemed fazed at all. Maria just kept hoping that she'd hit a vital part somehow. Anything to get them out of the situation they were in.

"New orders issued!" the sentinels bellowed together.

The sentinels opened fire. This was something that she wasn't ready for. "Run!" Maria ordered. No matter how much she fired upon the sentinels, there was one thing that she knew for certain...the sentinels would win.

"Bruce!" Betty screamed.

The Hulk turned towards them and charged at the sentinels. Maria took that as her cue to grab Ethan again. "Run!" she repeated.

The group ran off together, pulling the kids along the best they could. At first, Maria thought that they were going to be able to hide and make it until morning. Coulson was expecting them, she'd sent word. If they could hide long enough, then she was certain that SHIELD would send help. They weren't safe, though. Happy's cries signaled that. She turned to see Happy fall, having been shot in the back by a sentinel. Charlie tumbled and looked back, unmoving.

"Keep going!" Maria instructed as she set Ethan down and placed his hand in Sophia's. She turned back and headed for Charlie. Happy was unmoving, face down, and as much as she didn't like to leave someone behind...they HAD to. Maria scooped up Charlie and ran after the group.

I'm sorry, Happy.

Once she was back to speed with the other group, she let Charlie back to her feet and they continued to run. The buzz seemed to surround them suddenly. When the sentinels came into view and she realized that they were surrounded and that they'd do anything, she knew what she had to do. Something that she'd been trained to never do.

"We surrender!" Maria shouted as she raised her hands up in the air, she let her weapons drop to the ground at their feet.

The sentinels hovered for a moment. "New orders dictate, eliminate targets."

"Shit!" Maria mumbled as she tried to act fast enough.

She wasn't fast enough.

Betty and Kylie were shot first and then Ethan. Maria let out a guttural scream as she grabbed Charlie and Sophia who were screaming and tried to use her body to shield them. The rest became a blur before Maria remembered the world going dark. She remembered hitting the ground and realizing that Charlie was limp and that she'd stopped screaming. It was suddenly so silent, except for the humming buzz from the sentinels. The last thing she remembered was Sophia's bright blue eyes staring back at her, full of tears and the quiet words the girl spoke on her dying breath.

"Fury will come…"

. . .

TBC…


	7. The TARDIS

**2030 - Science Lab**

It took time. Sometimes it felt like too much time. Felicity knew that everything had to be right, though. This machine was everything for all of them. It meant hope...an unbelievable kind of hope. Felicity wasn't sure she really even understood how much this machine was going to change everything. She KNEW what was going to happen, but Felicity was certain that it as change more than what she could think of. There was so much that had happened in the world that needed to be changed, this was the chance to change all of those things.

"We need to run those tests," Fitz said.

Felicity turned her gaze from where Bruce and Tony were working and followed Fitz to where Simmons was. Jemma was tapping the top of her TARDIS and humming. "Have you gotten those tests done yet, Fitz?" Jemma asked.

"They're started, but I thought we were going to talk about what's going to happen to whoever goes through the machine?" Fitz asked.

"What do you mean?" Felicity questioned. She'd heard them talk back and forth about things, but sometimes she zoned out. It wasn't that it wasn't interesting or that Felicity couldn't follow, it was just that sometimes she found herself thinking about Starling City...thinking about how things used to be...and missing her kids.

Jemma and Fitz turned to her. "The machine that's being constructed is basically a time machine," Fitz explained.

She got that.

"But not like the TARDIS-" Simmons added.

"No, not like the TARDIS," Fitz said quickly. "It's more like...you have to think of it like going into an alternate universe. We can't be CERTAIN, but we're fairly sure that when more than one of the same person exists in the same space-"

"It's just too much for the universe to handle, it's not right," Jemma finished. "So, in order to correct it...it makes both people sick...and the person who crosses over is likely to die...and quickly...within hours…"

"Which is why it's imperative that we use the machine to send whoever is going back close to where their past self will be."

Felicity nodded in understanding. She understood what they were saying and understood that whoever went back was on a suicide mission, but then...really, this whole project was one big suicide mission. If they accomplished changing the future, then their lives would all be different and their universe would no longer exist. That's what they wanted. She knew that anyone would volunteer to do so, but really...it had to be just the right person. It wouldn't be easy to go back fifteen years and tell your past self how to change things. Felicity was fairly sure that she'd freak out and...well, it was just a lot to pile on a person.

"How do they choose who goes?" Felicity asked.

"There's a system," Fitz told her. "And you trust the system."

Jemma nodded in agreement.

"That sounds a bit rehearsed," Felicity told them. "But I guess everyone has a system…" Back when Team Arrow was working to keep Starling City safe, they had a system too. It wasn't always precise, but it worked.

"We've been in SHIELD for a while… I guess it's sort of ingrained into your brain," Fitz told her. "In a good way."

Felicity just smiled. "Of course."

"You and Oliver… The Oracle and the Arrow...didn't your team have something like that?" Jemma questioned politely.

That seemed like a lifetime ago.

"I used to always tell Oliver that there had to be another way," Felicity found herself saying without really thinking much. "I guess that's sort of been my mantra over the years…"

. . .

**2030 - Oliver & Felicity's Quarters**

Silence.

Oliver was holding her, he was laying on his side and she was on her back staring up at the ceiling. The quiet was nice. Breakfast and night were the only times that they really got to be together. They didn't NEED to talk. They really just needed each other. They needed the comfort and the companionship. That didn't mean that they didn't love each other because they did, it was just that they'd been through so much. Their love had changed so much over the years.

Love wasn't a simple thing.

Love's an ever-changing thing. Just like people. It often starts off as friendship and then grows from there. It changes with every breath you take. With every fight. With every compromise. With every major life event. It's tested, but it doesn't break...unless you allow it to break. There were times where Felicity didn't think her heart could bear to hold the weight or had the ability to love anymore...she'd been wrong. There was nothing left to live for in that world, nothing except love. It was what kept her going. Love and hope. That was it.

"We were talking about how whoever goes through...goes back," Felicity spoke up quietly. "How they have only so long and how they'll be in excruciating pain...and basically slowly dying…" She paused for a moment. "They have to go back and convince their past self to change the future… I don't know that I could convince myself of everything…"

"Well, are they sending you?" he asked and when she rolled onto her side to look into his eyes she could see the concern.

"I don't know. They haven't said WHO they're sending," Felicity explained. "I think it'll be someone from SHIELD."

"I have faith that if you had to go, that you could do it," Oliver told her. "I don't think necessarily you'd have to convince YOUR past self, you could convince me…"

She hadn't thought of that.

"And you, Felicity, have always been convincing…"

"But you're stubborn," she countered.

"That's true," he conceded and kissed her forehead. "I still think you could convince me."

"Everything has to be so perfect, though," Felicity explained. "Really...they'd have to do it almost with whoever would be closest to this facility. We're a long way from Starling City, Oliver."

Oliver sighed. "We have been for a while…"

"The person told doesn't need to know EVERYTHING," Felicity spoke up a few minutes later. "They just need to know what events to stop. The sentinel program-"

Oliver silenced her with a kiss. "It'll be sorted out by the director, I'm sure."

"You have a lot of confidence in SHIELD all of the sudden," Felicity told him a bit surprised. It had been hard for them to come to Avalon. At first, they weren't going to allow them both, but Oliver had quickly figured out how to be a trusted asset. He'd do anything if it meant changing things, just like she would.

"I've learned a lot working with them," Oliver said and kissed her again. "But enough with SHIELD." He started to kiss down her neck, his hands moving down her bare sides.

. . .

**2030 - Science Lab**

"You know, we need a name for the project," Jemma brought up as they sat around her and Fitz's workstations. Jemma suddenly beamed. "What about the TARDIS?"

"No," Fitz shot down quickly.

"Why not?" Jemma questioned.

"I think you're just hoping that if we name it the TARDIS, then whoever goes back can be codenamed 'the Doctor'."

"There's nothing wrong with that."

"And you probably have other ulterior motives," Fitz pointed out. "Like hoping that giving it that name will ensure that when the timeline is hopefully fixed that _Doctor Who_ will still be around in 2030."

"Civilization DID fall past the point of no return around the time they stopped airing new episodes of _Doctor Who_," Jemma pointed out. "I don't think that's coincidence."

Felicity smiled as she listened to them continue. FitzSimmons was definitely interesting and she understood why people called them FitzSimmons as a set. She watched as Tony and Bruce worked on welding parts of the machine together and Pepper was supervising. Felicity had noticed that Pepper was supervising a lot lately.

"I don't know that TARDIS is exactly something Coulson would greenlight," Felicity finally spoke up.

"Maybe if I talk to him," Jemma told Fitz with a smile.

Fitz rolled his eyes in response. They were all quiet for a few minutes. "Just think about how different our lives will be if this works…"

"I'm honestly not sure how it would be different," Jemma spoke up. "Maybe we'd be on the bus with Coulson...or maybe we'd have SHIELD completely built back up and we could be working out of the Triskelion."

"That's it?" Felicity asked them. She looked between them, it had been obvious to her since she got there, before she'd ever heard their stories about how they'd worked alongside each other for what seemed like their whole lives that at the very least that Fitz was in love with Jemma. "You two never have thought about getting married? Having a family? Settling down?"

"Not really," Jemma said flatly. "I guess...it just hasn't seemed to slow down enough to really think about that."

"I've thought about it," Fitz admitted. Felicity looked towards him as he crossed his arms over his chest. He was staring at Jemma. He shrugged his shoulders. "It's just never been something that's been available to us."

"Well, it's not like we were being held prisoner, Fitz."

"Sometimes it's hard to break away from something you love," Felicity said. "I wonder if Oliver and I hate quit with Team Arrow and let someone else protect Starling City…if our children would still be alive." She noticed that FitzSimmons were staring at her and looked concerned. "But then I realized that the world would still be the same...and I wouldn't want them to have this future…"

"But the TARDIS will change all of that," Jemma said confidently.

"We're not calling it the TARDIS, Jemma!" Fitz insisted.

. . .

TBC…


	8. Scars, Guilt, and Affairs

**2030 - Science Lab**

Sometimes she wondered why she seemed to be living in the science lab lately. She'd get distracted and then she'd remember exactly why she was there. "Tony… Tony…" Pepper said as she got up from her chair and moved between the two. Her attention was on Tony, though. He was the one who really needed her to intervene, he didn't know better. Pepper grabbed Tony's arms and looked over her shoulder to see Bruce moving Leo Fitz away from the project. The younger man looked like he was going to have a black eye and probably some cuts, but he'd survive. Leo was a good guy and he certainly didn't deserve this.

The thing was...Tony didn't deserve it either.

"Are you okay?" Pepper asked as she looked towards Bruce and Leo. She could see Jemma and Felicity, who both looked extremely worried and upset by the whole ordeal. Leo had just been looking at something on the project, just to make sure that the wiring was all connected properly because it hadn't connected properly when they had plugged it into the tablet. Leo had just been trying to make it work.

"Fine, fine," Fitz replied shortly and quickly as he nodded and held his hand over his eye.

"Tony!" she shouted as Tony fought against her hold. Pepper looked at him, right at him. When he stilled, his eyes focusing on her, and then Pepper ran her fingers through his hair. Her fingers slowly along the scar that zigzagged from his ear along his hairline and into his hair. It was a thin line where hair no longer grew, but she could always find it no matter how long his hair got. "Breathe…" After a moment, she waited to see if he said anything. When he didn't, she spoke again. "Do you remember where you are?"

"Of course, I do!" he snapped.

Rage fired through him, Pepper shook him as both hands gripped his upper arms again. "Tony! Stop!"

"Why don't we clear the room?" she heard Bruce suggest.

"Come on, Fitz," she heard Jemma say softly.

Out of the corner of her eye, she could see them all leave out of the room. Well, all of them except Bruce. As much as she wanted to be mad at Tony, she knew that that wasn't fair. It wasn't his fault. Tony couldn't help it. Two years before, when the sentinels had come...when they'd been neutralized and kept from doing anything about their children being murdered...Tony had sustained an injury to his head...to his brain. Tony had suffered brain damage. His brilliance was still there, but he wasn't social. He was okay with her and with Bruce, probably because the three of them were always with together. They all shared the same set of quarters and they were all the family that they really had left. "It's okay," Pepper whispered as she loosened her hold on him and then wrapped her arms around him, enveloping him in a hug. Tears fell down her face as she just held him. Something about Tony always seemed broken, vulnerable, and almost childlike to her now… She wished that she knew what was exactly going on in his head. They didn't talk anymore… Not like they used to. Everything was about the project. That was their life.

That wasn't life.

"They're gone," Bruce told her.

Pepper nodded against Tony's shoulder and then she kissed the side of his face before pressing her forehead against his. "You can't react like that… Leo was just trying to help…"

"He-he-he was going to BREAK it," Tony started, his voice sounding like he was going to erupt. "He-he-"

Pepper pulled away from him and just stared at him. What had happened to her husband? Sometimes it was hard for her to look at him and not wonder if they'd done the right thing. Pepper had told the doctors to do anything they could to save Tony, but had she been selfish? Should she have let him die? Should she have let him be in peace? Pepper just hadn't thought she could bear a world like the one they were living in alone… She had never thought that he would turn out like this… That she would ultimately lose him, that only his genius would remain.

"Why-why-why are you cry-crying?" he asked and his face scrunched up. His hand raised to touch her face, but his hand froze an inch from her face. It was like he was afraid to touch her.

Her eyes slid closed and she just tried to remember a happier time. It was hard, her mind was so heavily impacted by the ugly and evil events of the what the world had slid into. Pepper thought back to a time when she, Tony, Happy, and Maria were on some beach with Sophia running back and forth with the waves squealing while she sat under the umbrella watching with a baby Charlie. God, how she missed her children. They had brought so much joy to their lives… All three of them. It felt like just yesterday that she was holding each one of them in her arms as an infant.

Sophia… Charlie… Ethan…

More tears fell down her cheeks as all she could think about was the fact that her children were gone. They'd been murdered and they'd been helpless to do anything. Sometimes she found it hard to even look at Tony or Bruce. They'd all lost so much. It wasn't just her and Tony's children… It was Happy, too. It was Betty and Kylie. They'd all died that day…

"Did I scare you?" Tony asked in a whisper.

Pepper opened her eyes to stare into his and there was something there that she hadn't seen in years. It was like she was actually talking to the man that she had married. His eyes were filled with worry and yet kindness. His eyes reverted almost as quickly as they'd changed. Tony grabbed her and seemed like he was about to hurt her, when Bruce intervened. Bruce got between them and Pepper watched as he seemed to start to be changing into the Hulk.

"Bruce! Stop!" Pepper shouted as she moved herself back towards Bruce. He was pushing Tony up against the wall and she could see Bruce's skin tinting a green and his muscles seemed to be expanding already. She knew that he was trying to control his anger, though, because the Hulk hadn't completely taken over yet. "He didn't mean it! You know-"

"I know," Bruce said as he stepped back from Tony. She could hear the struggle in his voice.

Tony didn't look even fazed by being slammed against the wall by Bruce. He just stood there, unmoving. Pepper looked between the two of them for a moment. Tears were rolling freely down her face and she had a feeling that they all needed some space apart. "Let's get you to bed… You could use a nap…" Pepper said gently as she reached out and practically peeled Tony away from the wall. His face softened and he seemed so broken suddenly.

"I-I-I can't sleep…" Tony mumbled as he went along with Pepper just the same.

Pepper sighed. She knew that he was going to say that. "I'll make you tea," she whispered.

"Don't like c-c-cold tea…"

"But you'll drink it," she told him gently as they walked along. Pepper hated to do it, but Jemma would give her pills to put into tea for Tony in order to help him sleep. It was a sedative. She really did hate to do it, but they all needed it...and most of all...Tony needed it. He couldn't do any good if he was so sleep deprived...if he was violent...if he was unpredictable...if he was dangerous…

Once they were in their quarters, Pepper guided him to the mattress in one corner on the floor. There were pillows, sheets, and blankets that were just tossed about. It was how Tony preferred things. Pepper had tried at first to keep it neat, but it only set him off. So, she'd given up on it. Tony's corner was the only bit of chaos in that room. She watched as he settled down into a crosslegged position on the floor.

She moved to make the tea and mix in the sedative before bringing it back to him. He took it without another word and started to drink it down. Pepper carefully removed the shirt that Tony was wearing and then moved onto his shoes and socks. She took the cup from Tony once he was done with it. He relaxed back onto the pillow and Pepper made careful work of his pants once she set the cup aside.

"Pep…" Tony whispered.

Taking a moment, she folded his clothes neatly and set his shoes next to the pile. Pepper turned back to him, he was curled up on his side and looked so vulnerable and lost to her. She scooted, so that she could move his head into her lap. Pepper stared down at him, her fingers moving through his short hair. She hummed quietly as she watched his eyelids as they slowly slid closed. She didn't stop humming though, but her gaze moved up towards the ceiling as tears fell once more.

"I miss you," she whispered as she closed her eyes, her fingers still running against his scalp...through his hair.

. . .

**2030 - Command Center**

"We need to make sure that whomever we choose has the correct qualities," Maria stated. "I think we need to really think about that first."

"Won't whoever goes back...end up right where we are?"

Pepper turned to look towards Fury. "You're right," she spoke quietly. "They will. It will have to be someone who can easily make their way from here to their past-self in a short amount of time."

"How much time are we talking about?" Coulson questioned.

Shrugging, she let out a sigh. "I'm not sure." She paused for a moment. "THEY'RE not sure." Pepper shook her head. She knew that the project wasn't perfect. There were so many unknowns, but one thing was sure...the person who went back wouldn't have much time.

"What happens to the person who goes through?" Fury questioned.

"They get sick," Pepper said quietly as she looked at all of them. Between babysitting Tony and spending nearly every minute with either Tony or Bruce, she felt like she had thought up half of the things on the project. That was just how well she knew it. "From what I understand, it'll be like radiation poisoning...but they can't be sure. It could be an HOUR and not HOURS. We just can't be sure."

"So, the question is...who was in this area fifteen years ago?" Coulson asked.

"That's only the FIRST question, Director," Maria brought up. "The SECOND one is...who can we trust to complete this mission?"

Pepper thought back to two thousand fifteen. It was the year that she and Tony were married. "We were at Stark Tower…" she spoke up as she stared down at the table that was between them. "I mean, Tony and I were...and Maria…"

"Bruce was in Africa or something back then, I think…" Maria spoke up.

"Tony CANNOT be the one to go back," Coulson voiced. "He's too…"

When Coulson's voice trailed off, she looked up to see him looking at her. Phil Coulson was a sweet guy. Being Director of SHIELD had changed him, but he was still the man that she'd befriended. She knew that he wasn't trying to offend, but the truth was...she was well aware of exactly what everyone else thought of Tony. They were right. "He's too broken," she agreed quietly. "But he also wouldn't be able to convince himself."

"I wouldn't believe myself," Maria admitted.

"Really?" Coulson asked, he sounded surprised.

"So, who does that leave?" Pepper questioned.

"How about you?"

"Me?"

"You."

Pepper stared across at Coulson for a long moment as she sucked in breath. She knew that Coulson and Fury really wanted someone they could trust. Of course, using a SHIELD agent would probably be preferred, but at this point...Pepper felt like she was practically SHIELD. She did just as much as any SHIELD agent in that facility, if not more. She worked with Tony and Bruce and then she worked up in the command center with all of them. Keeping busy was important to her. It kept her thinking about what they were working towards and kept her (for the most part) from dwelling on the horrors of her past. Sometimes, though, she found it hard to be around Tony or Bruce or Maria… They all reminded her of her children and Betty and little Kylie...and Happy… They had been meant to all be there at Avalon TOGETHER. If she and Tony had acted sooner, then maybe...just maybe their children and their friends would all be alive still…

"I don't-" Pepper started.

"You would have access to Stark Industries…" Coulson pointed out.

"Do you not believe that you could convince yourself?" Fury questioned.

"She'd have to get past me," Maria reminded.

"I don't know," Pepper admitted.

. . .

**2028 - En Route to Avalon**

As they walked along the road, Pepper felt like she was overwhelmingly aware of their surroundings. At the same time, she knew that she could be even more aware. They weren't in their armor, but Pepper was wishing that at least one of them were. At least this way, they were less conspicuous. Since the Extremis virus had been reforged into something new, they could carry the armor inside of them. Rescue lived inside of Pepper and it heightened her senses, sharpening her vision and hearing.

Rescue was never supposed to be a weapon.

The name Rescue was because that's what the armor capabilities were. It had the same strength, speed, and operating system as the other armors, but the closest thing to a weapon was its electromagnetic abilities which Pepper could shape in different ways.

There was a buzzing sound. They all froze for a moment, but a moment was all they needed to realize the danger they were in. "Everyone stay together," she commanded as she looked back at the group behind her, Rhodey, Tony, and Bruce. With a simple thought, her armor moved from inside of her bones and formed around her. When her HUD came up, she immediately started searching for them. They were out there…coming for them…

Sentinels.

"Maria!" Sophia shouted.

Pepper sometimes hated the suit. She couldn't hide her children away inside of the armor and yet she couldn't stop being who she was. Pepper also had to do everything she could to protect her children, which meant being Rescue and trusting Maria and Happy. Maria Hill had been with their family long enough to BE family and Pepper knew she'd protect her children as if they were her own.

They knew that the sentinels were getting close. They had trained the kids for this, they all had trained for that moment. Iron Man, War Machine, and Rescue formed a ring around Happy, Maria, Betty, and the four children. They purposely left an opening for Bruce. They just had to hope that the four of them were enough.

"Sentinels approaching," JARVIS announced through the HUDs. "Eight identified."

"We're going to be FINE," Maria promised. Pepper knew that she was trying to keep the kids calm. She wished that she could be the one holding them and assuring them that they were going to be fine, but this was where she had to be. She had to hold the line and shield them. She had to be Rescue. "I want you all to remember where we're going and how tomorrow we're going to be safe...okay?"

Eight sentinels.

She tried to tell herself that they could handle that many sentinels, but as they were surrounded...she wasn't so sure. It had been some time since they'd really had a run-in with the sentinels and Pepper was certain from looking at the readings on her HUD that the sentinels had been upgraded since then.

"Identified. Tony Stark. Pepper Stark. Sophia Stark. Charlotte Stark. Ethan Stark. Bruce Banner. Betty Banner. Banner offspring. James Rhodes. Harold Hogan. Maria Hill." The sentinels boomed as their collective electronic voices spoke. "Remain calm. Remain still. Surrender your tech. Come peacefully."

"That's not going to happen," Tony announced.

"We do not wish to harm you. You are to be arrested under the-"

"No," Tony interrupted.

None of them were just going to give up. They'd heard enough rumors of what was going on in the world out there. They knew the horrible things that the government did. They knew that there were talks of the government killing people rather than incarcerating them.

A blast of light emitted from the sentinels. When it hit her, Pepper's HUD flickered for a moment before the whole suit went dark. All power went offline and Pepper found herself collapsing, still encased in the Rescue armor and unable to retract it. Pepper could hear and feel the Hulk (assumingly battling the sentinels), but not JARVIS, Tony, Rhodey, or the sound of the armor's operating system rebooting.

She was trapped.

"Mommy!"

"Daddy!"

Pepper could do nothing now to keep her children safe. She was completely helpless. Everything slipped away from her a moment later.

. . .

**2030 - Quarters**

"You're just talking a lot more tonight," Pepper said. She was wrapped in a sheet, her hand holding it in place as she turned onto her side to stare at Bruce. After talking with Fury, Coulson, and Maria she'd been thinking more and more about the past. The past hurt. The past was hell.

"What are you thinking about?" Bruce questioned as he propped his head up in the palm of his hand as he stared at her. The blanket covered his lower half, but he seemed to be completely comfortable that that was all of him that was covered.

"They want ME to be the one to go back," Pepper told him. "I don't know if I can do it."

"They wouldn't choose you if they thought you couldn't actually do it, Pep."

Pepper didn't know what she'd do without Bruce. He was always so kind, loving, and reassuring. On days like this, she really needed that. She was fairly sure that she would have died or Tony would have killed her by now if it hadn't been for Bruce. Her life had been flung into complication even more after her children and friends had been murdered by the sentinels. She and Bruce had both needed comfort and Tony...well, Tony didn't care. His mind had always been a scientific one since the accident. The loving and emotional husband that she'd fallen in love with and married...he'd died two years ago. He'd died with their children...with Happy...with Betty and Kylie. Pepper had never planned to cheat on Tony, it had happened one night and she'd felt horrible about it. The weird thing was that she'd admitted it to Tony and he'd pretty much given them his blessing.

Things were complicated, but Pepper knew that the three of them were doing the best they could to survive. The three of them were working for so much. They had the project. Everyday they worked on that project, the closer they got to changing their lives...to bringing color, life, happiness, beauty, hope, and wonder back into the world that they lived in. Everything would change. Pepper kept reminding herself that they'd change things...people they loved wouldn't die as they had.

"Maybe…"

Bruce pulled her into his arms and started to kiss her face. Pepper knew that they had Tony's blessing with all of this, but two years later she still worried about it and felt a twinge of guilt. She didn't feel like she deserved love…

"Pepper," Bruce whispered before his lips finally covered hers and kissed her passionately.

Her thoughts blew away as her eyes slid closed and she focused on how Bruce was making her feel. His lips started to cover her neck and shoulder in kisses. He was far too good at distracting her. Bruce's hands ran over her bare skin under the sheet as he continued to kiss her.

Things would change.

The project would change it all.

. . .

TBC…


	9. Geronimo

**2030 - Science Lab**

Felicity was sitting with Jemma and Fitz on one side of the lab, they were running the final tests for the STILL unnamed project. Ever since the incident with Stark, they'd kept their distances Fitz was still black and blue. Everything that they'd been working towards, all of Felicity's hope...it was going to be well worth it.

"I heard that Pepper is the one that they've chosen," Fitz spoke up quietly.

It was odd that it was sort of like two cliques in the lab. Pepper was over near the project with Bruce and Tony and then they were on the other side of the lab. Felicity was just glad that it seemed like things had calmed down and that they were getting things done. They just had to get the project done and to put things back into place...into the way that they were supposed to be…

Her kids.

She kept thinking about how different things WOULD be.

That's what kept her going.

It's what made things easier when she didn't get to see Oliver as much as they would like. She was working long hours and unlike Pepper, Oliver wasn't one to sit around the lab and just hang out (even if he wasn't needed for babysitting). He felt uncomfortable there and he'd told her that it was too hard for him. Felicity missed him, though. At the very least, she could tell herself that they'd have a much better relationship as soon as Pepper went back and fixed everything.

"Pepper? Really?" Jemma asked and seemed surprised. "I was certain that they would have chosen someone with a little more…"

"Experience?" Fitz suggested.

"Someone who was a little more physically violent," Jemma told him. "A trained SHIELD agent...not us, obviously…"

"Like May?"

Jemma shrugged. "She could have done it."

"Does she know all of the side effects?" Felicity questioned.

"She HAS to," Jemma responded. "Coulson and everyone else all received our findings. They wouldn't just choose her and not tell her what she was going to be walking into, right? I mean… It's one thing to volunteer her, but it's another for her to accept the assignment."

Felicity really didn't know who else would be a good choice. She still didn't know many people there. The problem with her or Oliver going back was because they were so far from Starling City. They'd have to take a plane and with the time restriction and the sickness...there was a chance that they'd die before they even made it that far. So much depended upon that person going back. They had to give that person every opportunity to make it work...to pull it off flawlessly.

Pepper wasn't someone that Felicity knew well, but she knew that she'd suffered. In some ways, she felt like they'd lived similar lives… Pepper seemed so much stronger than she felt she was. She also seemed like she'd done so much more with her life… Who else could do it better? She was all for men going out and saving the world in armored suits and leather, but women could do it too...and sometimes...things like this...they were delicate...and sometimes it needed to be a woman.

"She's seen us!" Fitz said quickly. "Look away!"

Apparently none of them had realized that they'd been staring in the direction of Pepper, Tony, and Bruce. It was hard to talk about a person sometimes and NOT look at them. Felicity had found it harder because she was still trying to figure out the woman. She trusted Fitz and Jemma, but she worked with them for the bulk of every day she'd been there. Why wouldn't she trust them? They weren't the type of people who kept secrets...not from people you worked with at least…

They all pretended to go back to what they'd been working on, their backs to an approaching Pepper, but apparently it was too late. She'd seen them and the click of her footfalls were distinctive as they continued to talk about everything they needed to do for their final checks for the project.

Fitz spoke up and tried to sound convincing. He seemed to stumble though, but Felicity and Jemma just kept nodding like he was making perfect and clear sense. "And-and Felicity, you're going to check that the interface-"

"How are you three doing over here?" Pepper asked. They all looked up at her and all three of them started to ramble on about how they were working and weren't staring until Pepper's smile cut them all off. "How's your eye, Leo?" she asked and it was clear that she was concerned as she brushed her fingers alongside his black and blue eye. "You know Tony didn't-"

"I know," Fitz replied quietly. "All is forgiven."

"Are you sure?"

Fitz nodded and then seemed to decide to take the opportunity to ask Pepper their question since she was right there. "So, we heard that you had been chosen to go back."

"Yes," Pepper confirmed. "I still haven't worked out how to make it work, but I will."

"We have faith in you," Jemma told her with confidence.

Pepper smiled. "I keep going over where Tony and I were in two thousand fifteen and keep trying to make sure that I'll be able to get around anything that might come up."

"Not to be a Debbie Downer or anything," Jemma said. "And NOT that we don't have complete confidence in your abilities to complete the mission, but have you thought about a Plan B? In case you can't go? I mean, the location is fixed-"

"Actually no… I think Fury and Coulson felt like it was an all or nothing kind of mission."

"That's understandable, I only bring it up because the point in which a person will go back is FIXED…" Jemma let out a brief laugh. "Like a fixed point in time." Felicity caught the reference and just smiled. "Anyways, I was THINKING that it might be prudent of us to have you and Tony sign a letter… I didn't know if we could reproduce Stark Industries letterhead...or perhaps we have some on file somewhere… But something that says that the holder of that paper would have the whole range of everything Stark Industries at their disposal, no questions asked…"

Felicity thought about what Jemma was saying and it DID make sense. If they were located closer to Starling City, it was something that she would have suggested. She opened her mouth before she fully thought it through. "Actually, I think Jemma's onto something. Whoever goes back, they need to be basically invisible. It might be a good idea to have everyone with a helpful connection to write something similar." She paused for a moment. "Queen Consolidated doesn't have headquarters in New York, but there's still a building there… There might even be a private jet parked there. We never know what's going to happen… It wouldn't hurt to be overly prepared."

"I'll bring that up to Coulson," Pepper told them. "It's smart."

"While you're talking to the director," Jemma said quickly as she put on a face that Felicity had learned was Jemma's 'please please please' face. "Could you suggest that we call the project The TARDIS?"

A smile spread across Felicity's face as Fitz just rolled his eyes in response. "If we do it, we should probably think of a good place to keep them all until The TARDIS is actually used."

Jemma's face lit up. "Oh!" It was like a kid at Christmas. Though, Felicity figured that this was probably the most excitement Jemma or Fitz had experienced since they'd been brought to Avalon. "We could place the letters IN my TARDIS," she told Pepper as she motioned to where the plastic TARDIS sat at her workspace. "The top flips up so you can store things inside."

"We should be storing cookies in there," Fitz complained.

Pepper just continued to smile. "I will talk to Coulson," she told Jemma as she touched her shoulder before walking off.

She wasn't sure how she was going to get her hands on something that was Queen Consolidated, but maybe...just maybe SHIELD had the logo on a drive somewhere that they could access. It was definitely something that she and Oliver could contribute and she was always feeling like they didn't contribute as much as the others, likely because they were the newest ones there. Everyone else had been there for at least two years.

They were going to get their happy ending.

. . .

**2030 - Quarters**

Felicity was awake. She had wished Oliver was up with her, but then at the same time...she didn't. If they were both awake, she was afraid it would be far too awkward. She wanted to be held, but being this close to Oliver brought out memories and emotions in her that she would rather not remember. It just hurt too much.

Her fingers ran along the perimeter of her locket. It was kept on a long chain, so it mostly remained under her shirts...at least since they'd gone into hiding. She hadn't wanted it stolen. It felt like it was part of another life. She still didn't want to let it go. The locket was rose gold and spherical like a ball. The front and back of it had a flat area, so that it rested flat against her chest. The beveled inset diamonds adorned edges of the front side along with a beautiful script with the name 'Queen' etched diagonally across the middle. Inside were tokens of her life before. The only things that remained of that life.

It had been a wedding gift.

A gift from Oliver.

The memories that she didn't want to think about...the sad and depressing and heartbreaking ones… She kept trying to remind her that things were going to be different soon enough. The last fifteen years of her life would be different. They'd be happy… Felicity knew that it sounded like a dream, but at the same time...she'd seen the science. It was going to happen...and it was going to happen SOON.

Klaxons sounded.

Lights flashed.

An alarm.

Something was wrong.

Felicity sat up almost as quickly as Oliver had. "Something's wrong," she blurt out even though it was blatantly obvious. The question was WHAT was wrong? They both moved to pull on clothes and shoes without another word.

"Sentinels have entered Avalon."

Bile rose up her throat and she barely pushed it back down before looking over at Oliver. She was panicked and terrified, but something about them being together calmed her a little. He grabbed her arm and pulled her to her feet before yanking her out of the room and in the direction of the science lab.

. . .

**2030 - Science Lab**

People were panicking and running everywhere. It was to be expected. This was the first time since the base was commissioned into SHIELD's use in two thousand nineteen that it had been infiltrated by sentinels. They'd managed to remain under the radar for over a decade. They were so close to their project's completion and for their mission to be completed.

They were SO close.

"We're still doing it!" Maria Hill announced as she entered the lab. "FitzSimmons! Make sure that that thing checks out!" She was quiet for a moment as the two scientists moved towards the project. "And Coulson says that we can name it The TARDIS," Maria spoke up a moment later. Felicity didn't miss how sound she seemed to sound. She didn't know WHY anyone would be sad when thinking about the TARDIS, but she was certain that there was a reason...probably an extremely sad one that had to do with the death of someone she had been close to.

Felicity heard Jemma's squeal of delight as she and Fitz started to plug into the project that was now codenamed The TARDIS. If they'd had more time, Felicity knew that Jemma would be ready to paint the thing the proper color blue. After all, it would be nice for everything to be right. "What can I do?" Felicity asked as she approached them.

A different kind of alarm sounded and Felicity looked back to where Oliver was standing. She wondered if he thought the same things. If he remembered all the horrible times in their lives that had involved sentinels. If he remembered that sentinels were controlled by people...evil people...the same evil people that were responsible for murdering their children and so many others around the world.

"We got to work quickly," Fitz said. He took Felicity's hand and guided it. "Hold here."

"Queen! We could use help securing the bunker!" Maria barked to Oliver.

Felicity looked over her shoulder to see him nod to Maria before looking back to her. "I'll be right back," he promised her.

She just nodded and tried to keep from panicking. Oliver was the last thing she had in that whole world. She couldn't lose him. Felicity turned her attention back to what Fitz had instructed her to do and kept the tears at bay. He was coming back became her internal mantra. Oliver didn't lie to her.

Pepper and Tony were in the lab, trying to ensure that everything was ready. "Are we sure it'll work NOW?" she asked and looked from Tony and then to them. She obviously wanted to make sure that no one was going to tell her something conflicting.

"It will, yes," Fitz replied before anyone else could. "But if we're going to do this, we need to do it before Avalon is breached any further or else we risk damage to the project or possibly having the power being cut to this section."

"We DO need the power," Tony said.

"We should secure the lab and send you now," Jemma added.

Felicity just stared at them all. They were doing it NOW? This was IT? Part of her wanted to shout that they better barricade the door immediately then, but another part of her didn't want to send Pepper until she could see Oliver again. Sending Pepper meant that their whole past, present, and future would change...for the better… She just felt like they needed a goodbye. "Now?"

"Now," Fitz confirmed.

She watched as Pepper and Tony seemed to be saying their goodbyes and just tried to focus on working with Fitz and Jemma. Oliver promised to come back. He didn't lie to her. He didn't. He would be back. She'd get her goodbye.

So, they worked on preparing the project...The TARDIS. Everything was powered on and looked to be working right. Jemma had moved her little TARDIS over, so that the letters wouldn't be forgotten by Pepper. They'd done the best they could for the letters with what they had. Felicity just hoped that it was enough. Pepper didn't think she'd actually use them, but it was good to have on hand just the same.

The door to the lab had been locked and a table had been pushed in front of it. It wasn't a lot, but it was what they could spare. Which when the sound of the door being slammed into echoed through the room, they pretty much all jumped. Felicity looked around worriedly. None of them even had a weapon. She supposed that it was possible that Tony's JARVIS might have some sort of weapon, but she doubted it. Not with how Tony acted randomly.

"Let us in!" Maria Hill shouted as the door was pounded on.

"Hurry!" Fitz yelled. They were all moving the table and opening the door before pushing the table back towards the door. The repositioning came to a quick halt when shots were fired into the room. Instead, everyone scrambled for cover.

"Get down!" Maria yelled as she returned fire.

There was a loud rumbling and it felt like an earthquake and then suddenly Felicity found herself staring at rather large green legs. She looked up and realized that Bruce was currently in Hulk form. She'd heard all about it, but this was the first time she was witnessing it. Sweet and intelligent Bruce...he had a freaking crazy terrifying side. He let out a roar and Felicity pushed herself farther under the table she was hiding under.

"Sentinels!" Oliver shouted as he slid into the room.

Felicity was shocked to see Oliver with a loaded bow and a quiver on his back. He was firing arrows as Maria Hill took shots and the Hulk ran back out into the hallway. He'd come back, she thought. Oliver had promised and now here he was. She caught him searching the room for her and in that moment, the moment their eyes met, Felicity watched in horror as Oliver was shot. "Oliver!" she screamed. He was right in the line of fire and she couldn't just hide and not do anything. Felicity pushed herself to her feet once she was free of her hiding spot, she grabbed Oliver, and dragged him out of the line of fire.

The Hulk continued to rage, but shots were still being fired into the lab and she suddenly realized that Fitz and Jemma were saying something. She turned to take in the room, to see where everyone was, and she could barely contain a sob that bubbled up within her. Fear and anger hit her as she looked at the lifeless bodies of Maria Hill, Tony Stark, and Pepper Stark. She looked down at Oliver, he was still alive, but he wouldn't be for long. He was dying. Felicity let the sobs come out for a moment as his hand brushed against her cheek.

"My brave girl," Oliver whispered with a smile.

"We failed-"

"Go."

"Oliver-"

"Oliver-"

"Felicity! You have to go!" Fitz shouted from his hiding place with Jemma.

"Go," Oliver told her. "You haven't failed, not yet, Felicity…"

"Felicity! You have to be The Doctor!" Jemma added a moment later before she let out a scream when the incoming fire hit far too close to them.

"I can't leave you," she whispered through tears as she looked back down at her dying husband in her arms. Felicity just couldn't leave him. Maybe this wasn't the end—

"You have to," he pushed out with difficulty as his eyes slid closed.

"Oliver!"

His eyes slid back open and he looked like he was trying to focus. "You go!" he told her. "You have to! You have to save them! Save ALL of us!" He paused and was incredibly quiet. "I believe in you."

Suddenly, the memories that haunted her flooded her mind as the hum of the sentinels nearly took over everything except her focus on Oliver. They were all going to die if she didn't do something, all of this was going to be in vain… All for nothing. She couldn't let that happen.

"You're the Oracle," Oliver whispered. "Go back and BE the Oracle… Make sure that Tommy and Maddie live long lives… Think about John…Lyla…Andy…Ben…Sara…Presley…and every other person and child who's died since the sentinels destroyed our world…"

She knew he was right.

Felicity still didn't want to go. She nodded and leaned down to kiss him one last time. "Goodbye, my love," she whispered against his lips as more tears fell. Felicity pushed out everything else as she got up, grabbing the quiver and slinging it over her shoulder. She strung an arrow on the bow string and started to back her way across the room to The TARDIS. An arrow wasn't going to do much against sentinels, but she could STILL hear the Hulk out there…and she felt like she was doing something.

"Thank you," she heard Jemma say as she grabbed the entire TARDIS, not worrying about just taking the letters with her.

"Thank you and…goodbye," she whispered before turning to the machine. She pressed the button and a portal started to open. Felicity sucked in one last breath and thought about everything that had to change. She focused on a happy moment from her past before moving forward. "Geronimo."

. . .

TBC…


	10. Borrowed Time

**2015 - Starling City**

There was no time.

The effects that she KNEW would come, they'd hit her immediately when she'd appeared in two thousand fifteen. So far, she had been managing, but Felicity was certain that part of that was her determination not to fail...the thoughts that she used to motivate her to push herself and continue. Felicity felt so weak, but she knew that she was stronger...

During her flight from New York to Starling City, all she'd done was think about what she was going to say and how she was going to convince herself…or anyone. She wouldn't have the time to make sure that she could get herself alone. If Oliver or Diggle or Sara were there, then THAT was who she was going to have to convince. There was no being choosey and she KNEW that she could trust any one of them to do it. They all had futures at stake…children…and Felicity KNEW that none of them wanted to go through the pain or horrors that she had faced and that still haunted her. They HAD to know, though, so she'd written a letter addressed to herself. It was all she could do to focus on the plane and to make sure that she wouldn't forget anything when she actually made it to the Foundry.

She was almost in awe as she was taxied through the city. It had been SO LONG since Starling City had looked like this. It was night and the city was lit up and it was breathtaking and beautiful. She never remembered it being so beautiful. It was so odd, how much you took for granted…until it was taken away from you.

"Are you sure this is the place?"

"I'm sure," Felicity told him and was thankful that she didn't have to worry about money. The Stark's private jet staff had made sure that a car was waiting when she arrived and there would be no worrying about a taxi driver, this man actually worked for Stark Industries. She waited until they drove off before she turned to Verdant. She just hoped that her codes would work and she'd be able to get in. Felicity was fairly sure, and from what she could see it seemed to confirm it, that Verdant was closed at the moment. Thea was gone from Starling City.

"Please believe me," she whispered to herself as she nervously stared up at the sign.

. . .

**2015 - Foundry**

It had taken her a while to actually go in, but then she'd reminded herself that she didn't have much time. She was practically on borrowed time as it was. Slowly, she'd gone down into the Foundry, the codes had worked to get her in and everything. Her hair was down, in an effort to conceal herself while outside in the world. She had to be careful. When she'd first gone down the steps, she'd thought that she was the only one there. The lighting was dim and it just screamed that no one was working. Felicity had immediately thought that that was odd and then she'd seen him.

Oliver.

He was dressed in his green leather, but no mask or hood. When he turned to her, he seemed surprised. Felicity wasn't sure exactly what kind of surprise, but she knew she was about to find out. He looked so young…so happy…and so…God, she missed him. Tears started to push through as she thought about HER Oliver and how he'd just been dying in her arms hours before.

"Hey," Oliver said as he started to walk towards her. "I thought you were in Central City until tomorrow night?"

"I—I decided to come back early," she lied.

Central City.

Barry Allen.

She couldn't remember WHY exactly she would have been there this time. Was it for romantic reasons or because Barry was her friend? Or was it something else? None of it mattered, she supposed, what mattered was that she needed to convince Oliver. Felicity didn't know WHY she was lying, maybe she just wasn't ready to let go of the way he was smiling at her.

"You look-"

"Old?" she filled in with a slight smile.

He seemed confused at that. Felicity knew that she couldn't keep it from him. She didn't have the time, no matter how much she wanted to savor this time with him. No matter how jealous she suddenly was of her younger self. This wasn't really HER Oliver, Felicity had to remind herself. That thought brought tears and she bowed her head because it was all a little too overwhelming.

"Hey," he whispered as he closed the distance between them and took her face in his hands. Her tear filled eyes met his and she could see something in him, like he KNEW that she wasn't his Felicity. So, she waited. She waited to see his reaction. "I-I-" He took a breath. "You look...different…"

"Do you trust me?" she asked.

Long ago, so much longer for her, she remembered meeting him in the coffee shop and handing over the book of names that Walter had given her. No matter the lies that he'd tried to convince her were truth, she'd trusted him. She didn't know the reason then, but she hoped that he'd feel the same way now. It was obvious that he KNEW that something wasn't right...but she NEEDED him to trust her now. Everything depended on it.

"Yes, but-"

"But I'm not your Felicity," she said slowly. Her hand ran along the side of his face. "And you're not my Oliver...but I miss you so much already," Felicity said as she stared at him with tears in her eyes. Fifteen years. He didn't know any of the horrors or any of the hell that they'd lived through and here she was about to drop it all on him. For a moment, she felt like she couldn't do it. She KNEW Oliver and she knew that the last thing that he really needed was this weight on him. He carried so much and blamed himself for so much that had already happened in his life…

"How are you not my Felicity?" he asked slowly and still seemed confused.

"I am, but I'm not," she told him and knew that that didn't clear up any of the confusion. "I came from twenty-thirty. I came back here to talk to myself...to warn her...to warn all of you of what cannot happen…"

"That's-"

"Science fiction?" Felicity asked and beamed at him. "There's a lot of that in the future…"

"What happens that would make you do this?"

"I wasn't supposed to be the one," Felicity admitted. "And I don't have a lot of time…" She brushed the tears away. He had to know. He had to understand. She had to be clear and he needed to know that she was serious about not having the time. "I'm dying, Oliver."

"What?"

And it was like she'd broken his heart. His eyes went wide and he gripped her arms, his height slouched a bit so that they were eye to eye. "No… I can call Digg-"

"You have NO idea how much I'd love to see John," she whispered through tears. "But it has to happen. It's not good for me to be here. It's not good for her…" She paused for a moment. "I was never supposed to come back because where I appeared at was too far...which is why I have no time," she tried to explain as calmly as possible. "Everyone died. I left you...dying...bleeding...and you were all I had left. Even IF John could do something, I wouldn't want him to… My whole world...my life...my family...they're gone," Felicity told him through tears. "I don't want anyone to ever have to go through that again, so I need you to listen closely. I need you to not ask questions. I need you to believe me." He was wiping tears away and she couldn't help it, she flung herself at him and held onto him for dear life. "I need you to FIGHT for our future," she whispered as his arms wrapped around her.

Her system was definitely done. Felicity was just thankful that she didn't need to worry about contaminating everyone she'd come into contact with. She'd been in the lab and knew the side effects and she knew that the radiation was a kind that she didn't have to worry about. FitzSimmons had done their whole finishing each other's sentence thing at warp speed and Felicity had gotten the gist of it. She wouldn't spread it and it would have been killed by the time she made it to two thousand fifteen, but her body would still be dying from the effects of the radiation poisoning.

"I'll do whatever you need me to do," Oliver whispered.

Felicity's eyes squeezed shut and she held him tighter for a moment. She really didn't want to let him go, but by how her body felt, she knew she didn't have much time. The clock was ticking. Felicity reluctantly pulled away and took a step back.

"I thought you were in Central City?"

John's voice brought her a mix of emotions. It had been too long. He was someone that she'd never been able to say goodbye to. She turned to look at him and being back there with both of them in the Foundry, that she'd almost forgotten what it looked like back then, it was just too much. "John-"

The world spun and no other words followed. She was caught before she could hit the floor. Oliver and Diggle were staying at her as the edges of her world turned black. Was this it? Had she failed? Would they find the letter? Would they look over her body? Would they open her locket? Would they realize how important her journey there had been? Would everything change?

Would-

. . .

**2015 - Foundry**

"She's not OUR Felicity, Oliver! What if she's not even Felicity?" she heard John ask as she lie still with her eyes closed. "She's got a SHIELD logo on her jacket."

"And you said that SHIELD wasn't necessarily bad guys."

"Well, the ones that work for Hydra are!"

"It's Felicity!"

"Oliver-"

"She's DYING! Why are we even arguing about this?" Oliver questioned.

She hated that she was the reason that they were fighting, but she didn't feel like she could even move her hand. Felicity found it difficult to even open her eyelids. She blinked at first, but her vision cleared and she turned her head in the direction of their arguing. "Don't-"

"Hey," Oliver said softly and he was standing at her bedside a moment later. "We're here… You're safe…"

"For the first time in te-ten years…" she told him with a smile. Felicity looked past him and looked to Diggle. She understood his concern that maybe she was a spy or some sort of maybe shapeshifter...but she wasn't. She was dying and she just needed to give her message. That was it. Pain hit her and she cringed as her eyes slammed shut for a moment until it passed. "I-I don't have much time…"

A phone rang and Diggle picked it up, holding the face of the phone in his direction. "It's Barry, Oliver."

"You take it," Oliver told him.

Diggle didn't look pleased, but he answered it and walked away.

"I'm sorry," Felicity blurted out.

"You didn't do-"

"I'm here," Felicity told him and closed her eyes. "But not for long."

"Don't say that…"

She smiled. God, how she missed Oliver… Felicity really wasn't sure how she felt about the whole dying thing and where you ended up...but she liked to think that she'd be with Oliver and their children. Oh God, her children. This was why she was there. Tommy and Madelyn. Those were HER reasons for being there. Her smile faded and she tried to will her arm to move, but when she brushed against her torso, she realized that they'd removed her jacket. "Letter…"

"Letter?"

Felicity's eyes opened as tears filled them. "Promise me something, Oliver."

She knew he would.

"Promise me three things," she practically begged as all she could think about right now was failing her mission and the murder of her children.

"Name them," he whispered.

"One," she pushed out. Felicity closed her eyes again. "Give Felicity...YOUR Felicity...the letter from my jacket...and my locket," she instructed as she managed to pull the chain from her shirt the best that she could. Felicity's fingers wrapped around the chain and just held onto it. It was the last of what had been such happy times for her, it was almost hard to think of giving it up...even if she was going to be giving it to herself. At least he'd KNOW where it was. Taking a moment, she focused on breathing. "It's for her eyes...not yours."

"Felicity-"

"Two." Felicity wasn't sure if her younger self would keep it to herself, but she knew that then it would be HER choice to put that weight on him...to share it. "Be happy, Oliver… Don't push us away… Fight for us. Fight for your future…" Tears fell from her closed eyes as she thought about how happy they'd once been. Her voice dropped, so that she could barely hear it in her own ears. "It's beautiful, I promise you that…"

His breathing told her that he was likely crying and he probably realized that her end was near. Oliver's hand covered hers and he squeezed lightly. It was nice to know that at least she wouldn't die alone. Even if he wasn't HER Oliver, he was still an Oliver that she remembered and loved...and he would ensure that her hope lived on far beyond her death.

"Three," she breathed and found it hard to push the words out. "Don't let her see me…" It might be stupid, but of all the nightmares that she'd faced. Felicity didn't think that her younger self needed to see her dead on the table. No one needed that image, that was enough of a weight that she was going to be forcing on Oliver and Diggle. Felicity remembered how she used to see the world and she would hate to think that she was darken that world any more for her so early on. "She has so much to live for… She has you…"

"Oliver, Felicity's really sick-" Diggle said.

"Because of me…" she whispered. Felicity smiled as she thought that she'd done what she'd set out to. She'd completed her mission. She hadn't failed. "But not for long…"

"Have Barry bring her home."

. . .

TBC…


	11. Tomorrow

**2015 - Starling City**

"Did you open it?"

"No."

"But you WANT to."

"Don't you?"

"What do we do with her body?"

Barry.

Oliver.

Diggle.

Their voices filtered into her brain before she realized that they all shouldn't be there. Barry should. Felicity realized that she should be in Central City, she remembered that. She'd gone there to help Barry with something… Felicity couldn't quite remember WHAT, but she remembered that she'd gone to help…It was nagging at her though, Barry sounded upset and Diggle and Oliver just didn't sound right.

Her eyes opened and she was even more confused. Felicity was in the Foundry, which meant Starling City...which wasn't one city over or anything. She was in Oliver's bed, the bed that she'd bought him for the Foundry so he wasn't sleeping on the floor. Felicity just didn't know WHY she was back in Starling and in Oliver's bed. She went to move, to sit up, so she could get out of bed and go talk to the guys. Movement though, brought on a good deal of pain. Felicity felt sore and tender all over, like she was bruised from head to toe, like she'd been in a car accident. She pushed aside the blanket and looked at her arm, but it wasn't bruised. Slowly, she sat up and took her time moving. The pain and the confusion took over her focus and the voices were just background murmurs. Felicity had thought about calling out, but she didn't want to alarm them. Breathing helped and moving slowly.

Eventually, she managed to get to her feet and to find her glasses. She was dressed in her pajamas, which she didn't remember changing into. Felicity was starting to wonder if she'd drank something...or...okay, so she really couldn't think of a good reason that she couldn't remember what had happened or how she was in the Foundry or how she was in her pajamas… She'd been with Barry, after all, nothing weird should have happened...at least, she didn't think THIS weird. Seeking answers, she moved from the room and towards the sounds of their voices.

"Maybe we should check on her," Barry said. "It's been a while…"

"Felicity's a big girl, she'll find her way out here," Diggle responded.

"Maybe Barry's right," Oliver spoke up.

Felicity smiled as she continued her slow journey towards the command center of the Foundry, which was where she assumed they were. "Is it Saturday?" Felicity questioned.

"No," Barry said too quickly. "It's Friday."

She didn't miss the glare between that Oliver sent Barry's way. "Oh-kay… Pretty sure that I was going to come back...ALONE...on Saturday...and the last thing I remember I was in Central City… So," Felicity said slowly and paused for a moment. "What's going on?"

"What's the last thing you remember?"

"We were working on a project…" she said, but couldn't remember the specifics. It was all a blur. Felicity didn't remember it being dangerous and obviously she had been in good company.

"How about the pain?"

"What happened?" Felicity asked slowly and with emphasis on each word. She wanted answers and less questions. She had NO idea what had happened and Barry's questions were making her a little too nervous. Felicity watched all three of them, just waiting. They knew something, she could tell.

"Are you hurting?" Diggle asked.

"Yes," she responded and crossed her arms over her chest as she looked between them. "But that doesn't answer my question…"

"We WERE in Central City," Barry spoke up. "We were working and then suddenly you started to feel sick…you were throwing up. At first, we thought it was food poisoning, but then you started to have really intense pain…" He paused as he stared at her. "You don't remember any of it?"

Felicity shook her head and brought her fingers up to her mouth as she tried to remember what he was saying. Her head spun and she felt a little sick that she couldn't remember that. "I don't… I-" Her voice broke, but she pushed on. "What's wrong with me?"

"NOTHING'S wrong with you," Barry tried to assure her.

She noticed the look that Barry was now giving Oliver. They weren't telling her everything. "What happened?"

"I-"

"You've got to tell her, Oliver," Diggle spoke up.

Oliver seemed pissed now. Felicity didn't know why. He normally didn't keep secrets from her, especially when they involved her. "Not now," Oliver practically growled.

"Diggle's right," Barry said.

"I didn't ask for your opinion!" Oliver snapped at Barry.

It was scaring her even more. If Oliver was acting like this, then she KNEW that it had to be bad. She couldn't stop the tears that started to fall and she turned away from them. "I don't know what you're keeping from me...but I WANT to know," she said as she turned back to them. Her hand fell back to her side and she moved to close the distance between her and Oliver, since she knew that HE was the one who was really keeping the lid on whatever he didn't feel like she needed to know yet.

"You-" He turned his head to the side. His voice got softer, gentler. "You just woke up…"

"Oliver! Please! Just tell me!"

"Felicity-"

"You're scaring me!" she told him. Her eyes were on his and she didn't let him look away. She needed to know what had happened. She needed to understand. She needed to fill in the blank gaps.

"I can't explain it to you," Oliver told her and looked down.

Felicity followed his movements as he removed items from his pocket. He pushed them into her hands. "What's this?" she asked as she looked back up into his eyes for answers.

"This...this will explain things," Oliver told her. His hands were still on hers as he held them there for a moment. "I was told, this is just for your eyes…" he said. Felicity stared at him, still questioning. "You'll see…"

In her hands was an envelope with her name on it, in what looked like her handwriting, and a weighty locket. She didn't stare at them for details because the guys immediately seemed to be scattering. "Where- What are you doing?"

"I'm going to patrol," Oliver told her. "I can't be here...not right now…"

"I should go home… Lyla… Andy… I promised I'd be home for dinner and I'm already late," Diggle told them.

Barry looked confused. "Well, I guess you need space...you know...to read that," he said as he awkwardly motioned to Felicity. "I'm just going to sit over at your computer and listen to the police radio…"

"You guys are really not going to tell me anything else?" Felicity asked as she held up the letter in her hand.

"We're going to all be right here once you're finished reading it, Felicity," Oliver said. His voice was quiet and gentle. "Except for Diggle...because...well, let's be honest...none of us want Lyla's wrath to fall upon us."

"Exactly! NONE of us!" Diggle said. "You can call me if you need me, Felicity."

Felicity smiled as Diggle hugged her, she held onto him for a moment and was happy to know that even though he was going to be gone...she could still call him. "Night John." Oliver disappeared and Barry just smiled at her and nodded.

"It's going to be fine," Barry said far too confidently.

Nodding, she let out a sigh and looked down at the items in her hands. Felicity motioned towards Oliver's bedroom. "I'm just going to go back in there and read then…"

Barry motioned to the computer he was now sitting by. "I'm just going to be you...while you do that…"

Uneasy.

The word was right, but it didn't exactly seem fitting. It wasn't a strong enough word. She lingered for a moment and then headed into the room that Oliver now slept in in the Foundry. Felicity sat on the bed and pulled in a deep breath. She wanted to look at the locket first, but she had a feeling that it didn't contain as many answers as the envelope held so she set it aside for now. The envelope felt thick and the familiar handwriting still nagged at her. It was her handwriting, she was certain, and it was her name. She didn't remember writing her name on an envelope…

"Just open it, Felicity," she whispered to herself as her hand shook. She wished that she wasn't alone, but at the same time...it was nice to be able to be terrified of what was held inside of the envelope and not try to cover the emotions from the guys. Felicity hated being the damsel in distress, especially when it was just a piece of folded paper. Her finger pushed along the envelope seal and she tried to steady her emotions. She didn't understand how she could be so emotionally compromised when she didn't even know what was inside of the envelope. Felicity swore it was just a feeling that she was getting from the envelope itself. There was something wrong…

Opening the envelope, she pulled out the folded pieces of paper. Felicity straightened them as she set the envelope aside. Her writing. It was the first thing that hit her when she opened the paper. The letter was in her writing...and then she started reading it, slowly and with far too much confusion.

Felicity Smoak,

I imagine you reading this and having an overwhelming mix of concern, confusion, and curiosity as you read your own handwriting, but don't remember writing it. You haven't written this yet and hopefully you will never have to. I came back from 2030 to keep you, Oliver, John, and all the rest of the people that we hold dear safe. I know that by even coming back and writing this to you that I may have changed how things turn out, but SHIELD wouldn't have worked so hard to get me here if there wasn't a good reason.

I'm called the Oracle. I never found it especially fitting until now. I guess I was always the one that saw ahead when Team Arrow still did things, but now… Now it seems quite appropriate, like I'm fulfilling some destiny. Now, you need to take up the title and hold true to the name. I'm giving you the message, now make it right, Felicity.

They're called sentinels and they kill everything. Oliver, our children, John and his family, Sara and her family, everyone that we hold dear. Over 200 children were massacred in one day in 2028, but so many more have been killed since they were constructed in 2019. At first, it was innocent enough but then it snowballed out of control. The government turned completely evil and entire cities were destroyed. The Starling City I left behind was destroyed and I never realized how much it had become home.

There are people who helped me get this message to you. People who gave their lives and whose help you'll need. They were all with SHIELD when I met them, but they might not be in 2015.

Nick Fury

Phil Couslon

Maria Hill

Tony Stark

Pepper Stark

Bruce Banner

Leo Fitz

Jemma Simmons

I know that this can all be difficult for you to take in. It seems crazy and unfathomable, but it's all true. Both of my children died in my arms… Oliver was bleeding to death in my arms before I got here, he risked everything to keep me safe and to make sure that I someone came back to fix things. You don't want the hell that I've lived through. The last two years, the only things that have kept me going is Oliver and hoping that we could change things. Please don't make my death one that was made in vain, I will die knowing that Oliver and our children will live now...because you'll do what has to be done.

You're stronger than you think.

The creator of the sentinels is Doctor Bolivar Trask. He's an anthropologist, which I know seems like an odd profession for the creator of destructive robots, but it's the correct information. You need to convince Oliver and Team Arrow of this, telling them as much as you think necessary. What you tell them, especially Oliver may alter your future. He needs you, Felicity, even if he tries to act like he can do it on his own. You all need to reach out to those people and work to keep the Sentinel Program from becoming into reality.

It's a lot. Too much. You still have to do it. You CAN do it.

If you're reading this and I didn't tell you it all myself, it's because I've died from the radiation side effects from coming here. My body should be destroyed. Before you do, there was a TARDIS that I was carrying letters that practically everyone on that list wrote, in case we needed to access their company or group's assets to get me here. I used Stark Industries' private jet and they had a car bring me to Verdant. You can use those as proof if the people on this list don't believe you. Keep this letter, it might come to be helpful as well.

I hope that my presence here wasn't too hard on you. I know that you must have experienced tremendous pain, but now you understand WHY I had to put you through it. Making sure that you received this...that you changed things...that's worth it for both of us.

Please do not let our deaths be in vain. I know you won't. Believe in yourself.

Felicity Queen

Tears hit the letter and Felicity reached up to touch her face. She hadn't even realized that she was crying. It all sounded crazy and she was having a hard time really being convinced of what was written in the letter. Had she really come back from the future? Had she come back in order to save them all from what sounded like hell? Felicity refolded the letter paper and tucked it back into the envelope that she'd set aside. She held the locket in her hands, but couldn't bring her to open it just yet. The letter, at the moment, was enough for her to process.

Getting to her feet, she took the locket and letter with her as she headed out of the bedroom and into the command center area of the Foundry. She found Barry at the computer, waiting. He was smiling brightly, but he normally was. It was enough to bring a small smile to her face as if it was contagious.

"You okay?" Barry asked. She could tell that he was honestly concerned and Felicity knew that between him and Oliver, that it was Barry that she could handle discussing it with at the moment.

"No," she whispered. Felicity held up the letter. "Me...she…" she rambled as her emotions took hold again. "Did you-"

"She was gone when I got here," he explained sadly.

"But you SAW her?"

Barry nodded. "I almost wish I could unsee her."

"She said that she was from twenty-thirty," Felicity told him.

He nodded again. "Oliver told me...while you were out."

"What else did he say?"

"Just that she told him that she was trying to fix things in the future and that apparently everyone died to make sure we got the message you have," Barry told her.

Felicity could tell that he WAS telling the truth. He wasn't keeping something from her. "Do you think I could see her?" She didn't even know WHY she wanted to see the body. Felicity KNEW that she was dead, but she thought that maybe it would be more convincing...

"Oliver said that SHE didn't want you to see her body," Barry said slowly. "I have to say I agree…" His eyes were pleading with her now. "Please Felicity, didn't the letter and locket hold enough evidence?"

"I haven't looked at the locket yet," she admitted and held it up. "It's heavy though…"

"What about the letter?"

"I...don't...know…" Felicity drug out. It wasn't that she didn't believe it, okay maybe she didn't. She really still wasn't sure what to think about it all. It was just a lot and a lot of it was just...out there. "It's just A LOT to really take in," she admitted.

"What did it say?"

She remembered what the letter said, she needed to tell them only what she THOUGHT they needed to know. Right now, Felicity wasn't sure WHAT to say.

"It's okay," Barry said. He seemed to sense her reluctance. Barry had always been one that was good about not pushing. "Maybe tomorrow."

Nodding, Felicity rolled the other chair so that it was next to Barry. It wasn't that she couldn't talk to Oliver about this, she just felt like she needed to breathe and think first. She needed the time to really take in what she'd just read. Barry, though he was a good friend and she cared about him, they had less history and less tension at the moment...plus, he was a good listener. There was also the bonus of her and Barry being closer on wavelengths, the two of them had clicked the day she'd met him. He was just a good friend and with Diggle home with Lyla, Barry was the best to talk to. And as much as she didn't want to talk about the letter yet, she needed to talk. "Do you think it's possible?"

Barry beamed at her. "Do you need me to just reinforce the fact that you're not crazy?" he asked and then paused for a moment. "After everything that you've seen, I know that you can't possibly be questioning it."

Felicity sat down with a sigh. "Something like that."

"What about the locket?" he asked. "Do you want to wait?"

In all honesty, Felicity didn't know what she wanted. She let the envelope rest in her lap as she held the lock in the palms of her hands. It was beautiful, it was white gold and almost felt like a small ball in her hands. The edges had diamonds that rounded it and across the center in elegant script 'Queen' was engraved.

"Does that say-"

"Queen?" Felicity finished and then nodded. "Apparently in twenty-thirty, I'm Felicity Queen."

"Well, I can't say that I'm surprised," Barry blurted out.

Opening the locket, she was surprised by what popped out. Four rings fell into her open hand. One was obviously a men's ring, it was rose gold with a hammered texture all over. One ring was obviously a woman's, rose gold with a larger diamond in the middle and smaller ones along the sides. The other two were much thinner simple rose gold bands that Felicity figured were intended to go on either side of the diamond band. She just stared at them for a moment and realized that they had to be the reason for the weight and had to have been perfectly placed inside of the locket.

"Wow," Barry whispered.

For a moment, she thought about slipping on the three bands. Felicity was a little uncomfortable doing it in front of Barry though. "Yeah," she mumbled. Felicity turned her attention to the locket and opened it all the way with her thumb. Inside were two pictures: one was a picture of her and Oliver on their wedding day and the other one was a picture of them with a boy and a little girl. Her eyes filled with tears again as she thought about those two children dying in her arms.

"Felicity?"

"She had two children...each person in her family died in her arms," Felicity explained without looking at him, not really thinking about anything but explaining why she was suddenly crying.

They were both quiet for a few minutes before Barry spoke up again. "Can I see it?"

Nodding, Felicity handed him the locket, but held tight to the rings. She still didn't entirely know how to feel about...well, everything. She watched as Barry looked at the pictures and wondered what he was thinking about.

"You...SHE looks happy," Barry pointed out. "They ALL do…"

He was right. They all had looked really happy.

"There's an engraving on the back, too," Barry said as he closed the locket and turned it over in his hands. "Oracle…"

"What did you say?" she asked quickly. Felicity hadn't noticed that there was a second engraving. What she heard couldn't have been right.

"It says Oracle."

Felicity held out her hand for the locket. When Barry set it back in her hand, Felicity saw the engraving on the back that she'd missed. "That's what they called her…"

"Like the Arrow?"

Felicity nodded.

"Cool!"

"Cool?"

Barry nodded. "Any if you think about it, it really IS fitting."

"Sort of creeps me out, actually," Felicity admitted.

Barry looked at her sympathetically. "Felicity, I think once you have some time to REALLY think about it...it won't freak you out so much."

Felicity sucked in a breath and then nodded. She put the rings carefully back into the locket. "I think I just need some time to think about all of this...alone," she told him as she got up from the chair. Felicity was about to go when she realized that there were still those letters she needed to locate. "There's a set of letters that people wrote in the future that I need," Felicity explained. "She said it was in a TARDIS."

"I saw one," Barry said as he got up from the chair. "I just thought you guys were decorating this place a bit more." He moved towards the stairs and then grabbed it before turning arounding with it. He didn't hesitate handing it over to her.

"These letters are supposed to help me convince people that I'm telling the truth," Felicity explained as she popped the top and revealed more letters. She added the letter from her future self in the TARDIS. "This is pretty fitting, right?"

Barry smiled and nodded. "Were you the one that chose the TARDIS?"

"I don't think so."

"Well, you have a list of people, right? One of those people had to be behind that brilliant idea."

Felicity just nodded. She was almost tempted to talk to Barry about the letter, but sleeping on it sounded like a better plan. "Will you please tell Oliver that I went home and that I'll talk to him tomorrow?"

"Your car isn't here?" he reminded.

Felicity let out a sigh and rubbed her forehead. "I forgot…"

"I also REALLY don't feel okay with you driving after everything that's happened today. I could take you home."

"Oliver's out there-"

"I'll let him know and if he REALLY needs me, then he can call me," Barry told her. He flashed a smile. "Plus, it's not going to take me long."

"Good point," Felicity said and thought about it for a moment. "And what are we going to do about my car?"

"I was going to call Cisco or Caitlin in the morning and see if one of them would drive here," Barry explained. "And I was kind of hoping to crash on your couch later...though I understand if it'll feel like I'm crowding you."

"No," Felicity said quickly. She knew that that meant that he'd probably get there after she was asleep and it would be kind of nice to know that she wouldn't be completely alone. "You can stay...and I'd appreciate any way to get my car back to Starling City."

"Let me just tell Oliver then," Barry told her.

Felicity nodded and held the TARDIS and locket as she waited. She watched as Barry radioed Oliver and told him what was going on. Sucking in a deep breath, she tried to keep calm. Felicity knew that once she was home that she could relax or cry or eat ice cream or anything else that might feel right...in order to feel better.

Tomorrow would be better.

Tomorrow.

. . .

TBC…


	12. Oracle

**2015 - Felicity's Home**

Felicity had hoped that going home and being able to really process what was going on…what had happened…that it would help. So far, it hadn't. She'd even re-read the letter and she'd read the letters in the TARDIS. There had been a letter that Oliver had written on behalf of Queen Consolidated and they'd both signed it. No matter how many times she saw it, it was so weird to see her last name signed 'Queen'. She'd looked up Stark Industries and had found out that Tony Stark and Pepper Potts (who was not yet Stark) were both located at Stark Tower in New York. Felicity really wasn't sure that she would actually actively seek them out, but it was sort of nice to know that they were REAL people. Finding the others seemed to be more difficult. She'd searched for SHIELD and there were all kinds of articles on the group, but it looked like it like SHIELD had been infiltrated for it seemed like forever by another group called Hydra (which was all bad guys) and now it was dispersed. Maria Hill, though, her name had popped up. She worked for Tony and Pepper in New York. Fury's name also popped up, apparently he was supposed to be dead. Felicity knew better.

What to do with all of it, though?

Could she change things?

Would it matter?

There was a knock at her door and she sighed. Felicity figured it was likely Oliver or Diggle coming to check up on her. Barry was gone when she woke up and came out after her shower, she figured that he was just trying to give her space though. She got up and headed for the door. She really wasn't sure if she was ready to talk to someone though. She knew with Diggle or even Barry that they wouldn't pressure her…or she just wouldn't FEEL the pressure was more like it. But Oliver, there was just so much in just that letter to…herself…that she still just couldn't come to terms with.

Drawing in a breath as her hand rested on the knob, Felicity tried to clear her head and calm down before she turned it and opened the door. "Sara," she said rather shocked.

"Is this a bad time?"

"Uh," Felicity responded and really didn't know what to say to that. "No… No, I guess not." She motioned for Sara to enter and then closed the door behind her. "I thought you weren't going to be back for—"

"I called to check in and it sounded like I was more needed back here," Sara explained. "Though Diggle would't give me any information other than you were really sick…and that Oliver was in a mood. You look okay to me." Sara paused for a moment and tilted her head from one side and then to the other. "And Oliver…is…well, Oliver…and I know how he gets…"

She followed Sara over to the couch and the two of them sat down. Felicity relaxed for a moment, closed her eyes, and then asked the question…because it had to be asked. "What else did they say?"

"That there was a second you…from the future…that she died bringing back some kind of message and that they're worried about you," Sara told her slowly. "I think the only thing that's keeping Oliver from going into super jealousy mode over you—"

Felicity's mouth dropped open and blush filled her cheeks. Her hand reached up and covered her one cheek before turning to the side, so Sara couldn't see her face.

Sara laughed. "It's obvious, Felicity… He loves you. Though, I can see why he's jealous… That Barry Allen kid…he's not only a hero, but he's got a superpower…and he's brilliant."

"Barry's a good friend."

"That's how it starts…"

Sara was right. Of course she was right. That's how it started between her and Oliver. Tears flooded her face and she closed her eyes. Everything had been complicated before, but now things seemed even more so.

"Hey… You okay? You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to… I just thought," Sara told her. "You might be more willing to talk to another woman rather than the guys…"

It took her a moment, she didn't want Sara to know that she'd fallen to pieces. Felicity loved Sara, they'd become fast friends and it was honestly nice having a friend who wasn't a guy. There were just some conversations you had with other women. Sara was so strong and Felicity never felt she could be like that. Maybe that's why she was having such a hard time struggling with accepting what had happened. "No…" she whispered and then took both hands and wiped her face. "I NEED to talk to someone about this…"

"Well, I'm here… I'm your girl," Sara told her.

"I hardly slept…" she started off. Felicity felt like maybe it wouldn't make her look so weak to Sara, as far as her emotional state went. "Like two hours…"

Sara nodded slowly as she stared at her. She reached out and pushed a stray strand of hair back behind Felicity's ear. "Then obviously you need to talk about it…that way you can sleep tonight…"

On the coffee table in front of them was the TARDIS, which contained all of the letters including the one from herself, and the locket with the rings inside of it. She'd given up trying to sleep hours before and had just been sitting on the couch with the TV on low running as background noise. Felicity shifted and grabbed the locket from the table. She held it out to Sara. "So… Apparently because there were two of me…I ended up having some kind of reaction where I was in intense pain that I don't remember…I think I might have traumatized Barry in the process… But so the other Felicity…she left a letter for me…well actually, she brought other letters too…but right now, I'm talking about the letter she wrote specifically to me…and she asked Oliver to give this locket to me." She held it out for Sara to take.

The other woman didn't even hesitate taking the locket from Felicity. "Oracle?" Sara questioned. Felicity hadn't thought to explain anything about the locket before hand and obviously Sara was looking at the back of the locket instead of the front of it.

"I guess it's kind of like Canary…or Arrow…or Flash…"

Sara immediately beamed. "See! That's neat! Right? You get your own hero identity!"

Her excitement was almost overwhelming for Felicity. She hadn't thought it was THAT exciting. Felicity didn't think of herself as a hero. She didn't go around the city in a hood, mask, and a bow. "Uh…I…maybe?"

"Well, I think it's exciting!" Sara told her. She turned it over in her hands and Felicity noticed the look on her face. "Queen…" she whispered as Sara ran her finger over the engraving on the front. "I'm not surprised."

"Are you mad?"

Sara looked at her, looking confused and almost shocked. "Why would I be mad about that? If Oliver lives…do you know what year she's from?"

"Twenty-thirty," Felicity supplied.

"That's a miracle…and the only reason that's likely happened is because of you," Sara said gently. "Felicity, I don't think you realize just how much you've changed him… He's better. You made him that way." She paused for a moment. "You've changed every single one of us…"

Felicity had shown Oliver that there were other ways of doing things, but she never really thought about it as changing him. He'd made all the choices. She'd just supported him as much as she could, nagged him when needed, called him out on his crap, and loved him unconditionally. It was Oliver though. "I…I don't know about that."

"Trust me," she told Felicity. "I knew Oliver before the Gambit, on Lian Yu, and now… If anybody, I'm going to be the best judge of how he's changed."

Silence passed between them as they just stared at each other before Felicity finally looked away. There was just so much going on in her brain, thinking about that on top of everything else just was too much. She was smart, some called her a genius, but her brain couldn't process all of that all at once. So, she decided to go with a distraction to switch topics. She just hoped that Sara wouldn't catch her doing it, or at least not call her out on it. "It's a locket," Felicity pointed out.

"It's heavy."

"She put their wedding rings inside of it," Felicity explained.

Sara almost immediately popped it open and started to examine them. "Did you try on yours?" she asked. She looked over the three band set, setting aside the one that belonged to Oliver. "You know Moira wouldn't have felt like these were fitting the next Mrs. Queen."

"I like them," Felicity spoke up without really thinking about it. "They're not exactly simple, but they're not really fancy or over the top…" Almost having forgotten Sara's first question, she added her response a moment later. "And no, I haven't tried them on."

"You should," Sara told her and held them out to her. "What?"

"Isn't that weird?"

"Because they're dead? Because you and Oliver aren't even dating?"

"Yes…to all of that," Felicity replied.

"She wanted you to have the locket AND the rings, Felicity…"

"That doesn't make it less weird."

Sara didn't seem to be worried about weird because she grabbed Felicity's hand and slid the three rings into place. "And the fit…I don't know why I'm so surprised…but look at them…"

They were beautiful.

She knew they were because she'd stared at them for hours. Felicity had just been almost scared to try them on, even though she'd wanted to. Now that they were on her finger, it was like they'd always been there. She didn't want to take them off. "They're gorgeous," she whispered as she just stared down at her hand.

"Look at how happy you two look," Sara said. "Did you try to pop the pictures out to see if there was anything written on the back?"

"No," Felicity said, momentarily turning her attention to Sara and the locket. "I mean…wedding day and then plus kids… I didn't know what else might be on the back of them, plus…I didn't want to break it…"

"Years…the kids' names, unless it said their names in the letter?"

Felicity shook her head and her eyes welled up with tears again. Those children… They had been part of the reason she couldn't sleep. "No… I know that both of her children died in her arms, though, and that Oliver was dying in her arms before she went through whatever brought her here…" Her voice was barely a whisper. "I can't imagine every single person I hold so dear, dying in my arms… Death must have been such a release for her…"

"This date doesn't surprise me."

She looked back to Sara and noticed that she'd popped the wedding picture off. "What?"

"Do you want to know?"

"No."

"Then it'll be a secret I'll keep," Sara told her as she re-affixed the picture. "Do you want to see if the kids' names are on the back of the other one?"

Pros and cons raged inside of her head, but the nightmares…the idea that maybe if she knew their names…it would help things won over. "Yes." The other photo was popped off and she leaned in closer to look at the back of the picture. "Tommy and Madelyn…"

"Thomas and Madelyn Queen. I like it," Sara told her. "Twenty-twenty-four is the year."

"That's four years before they were murdered."

The photo was flipped back over, so they could look at the picture. They looked so happy in it. "He looks about five or six and she looks about two." Sara was quiet for a moment. "Who would kill kids?"

"Apparently the government…" She leaned forward and retrieved the letter from future Felicity from the TARDIS before handing it to Sara. "I just… I don't know how I could be as strong as she says…"

Sara just stared at her and Felicity didn't understand WHY. She hadn't even started reading the letter yet. "Felicity, you really don't see yourself how the rest of us see you, do you?"

"I'm a liability… I can't defend myself—"

"You do things the rest of us can't do," Sara told her. "And YOU are the reason why we can do what we do… Strength isn't just about brute force. It's love, too, and you have so much of that…"

Both of them were quiet as Sara read the letter. It was almost a relief. To have someone read it and not worry about her going right away and talking to Oliver about it. Felicity knew that she could trust Sara and it was just nice to know that she would tell her what she thought. Sara obviously saw things differently than she did and really, it did help. She was starting to actually feel sleepy, like she might actually get to sleep, and Felicity figured that maybe it really was sharing the weight with Sara.

Sara handed her back the letter. "What are you going to do?"

"I don't know…" Felicity said slowly. "How can I fight the future?"

"You don't fight it alone," Sara told her as she put an arm around her and pulled her closer. "We fight it together."

. . .

**2015 - Foundry**

"Hey…" he greeted. Barry's smile was bright and like normal, he seemed in good spirits, as he spun a bit to track her as she entered the Foundry.

Felicity had allowed herself to sleep. Sara had made her eat first, making up an excuse that she always ate alone and she hadn't eaten yet. Felicity had actually fallen asleep on the couch and Sara had made sure that she'd gotten into her own bed. By what Felicity could remember, she'd slept over sixteen hours and was feeling human, though still a little sleepy. "You're still here."

"I was worried about you."

"You didn't spend the night-"

"I ran home...and I ran back," Barry told her, smile still in place.

Felicity had sort of forgotten about that. It made sense and she knew that he was worried about crowded her. She appreciated it. She'd actually appreciated that all of the guys seemed to have been okay with her just having space and thinking things out. Of course, Felicity HAD texted them to let them know that she was alive so that they wouldn't worry. "Right," she said as she closed the distance between them. Her hand fell into her coat pocket and retrieved the letter. Felicity had thought and thought about this and she'd discussed it with Sara.

Sara was right.

If she was going to fight the future, then they had to do it together.

They were a team.

Sharing this information was important. It didn't mention Barry, but she felt like he'd understand. Felicity hoped that he'd find a reason to help them in it. "You need to read this," she told him as she held it out to him.

"I thought it was a secret?"

"It's MY secret to share," Felicity said and as Barry took it, everyone else appeared in full gear (well not Diggle, but he looked like he'd been sparring with the others). Her eyes met Oliver's and he looked unsure. He opened his mouth, probably to argue, and she held up a hand and cut him off. "It's my choice… I get to make the decision of who gets to read it." She paused for a moment and tried to think of how to phrase her words correctly. "I think it's best that everyone read it. I don't want to keep secrets…"

"Felicity-" Oliver started to argue.

In just a couple of beats, Felicity moved over to Oliver. She had to make things right with Oliver. She knew that he was worried and she could understand why. Now that she had time away and she'd talked it out with Sara and she'd talked it out with Sara and she'd been able to actually sleep, Felicity felt like she could be calm and reasonable about things. There were still emotions, but they weren't running what should be more logical thought.

"Roy and I are going to head out," Sara told Oliver.

"And I'm going home for dinner with my family and then I'll be back…and I"ll read it then," Diggle said.

"I'm just going to read this…and you can pretend like I'm not here," Barry said as he turned in the chair, so his back was to them.

Oliver was suddenly smiling. She had missed him smiling, even if it was only for a day or so. "Are you sure?" he asked her.

Felicity's hand was on his arm and she stared up at him. "I wasn't before, but now I am," she told him quietly. "Oliver, we have to do this… It's confusing and strange, but it's important." Her hand slid down to his and his hand gripped hers. "Please...trust me."

"I-I do," Oliver told her as he squeezed her hand. He gave her a curious look and then held up their hands between them. "The rings…"

She'd forgotten.

Her breath caught up inside of her and she just stared. What was Oliver going to think? Felicity opened her mouth and started to try to push out the words, but they really didn't come out. Tears pushed to the brink, but didn't fall. She'd thought she was in control of her emotions… "I forgot," she finally whispered, her voice breaking here and there. "I-I-"

"They're beautiful," Oliver told her. What he did next, surprised her. Oliver removed the middle and outer band, leaving just the one band in place. "That's better."

"Oliver?"

"You keep this one for now...and I'll hold onto these," Oliver replied.

Felicity stared at just the one ring on her hand and was even more confused. She'd just forgotten about them. For some reason, they had felt right to wear and she'd not even realized that they were still on the next morning. "What are you doing?"

Oliver held her hand in place, his hand under hers. "This one… This one is a promise, a promise that I'll be here by your side through everything… Anything you need, Felicity. I am here. I will always be here."

Tears fell from her eyes and she wanted to believe that. Felicity didn't want the future that Felicity Queen wrote to come true. She didn't want her children to die in her arms or for her to have to leave a bleeding Oliver behind in order to try to save the world...she wanted the circle to end. She didn't want to repeat anything that was in that letter. "Oliver…" she whispered. "You don't have to do this…"

"No," he told her. "But I WANT to." Oliver was quiet for a moment. "I'm not going anywhere, Felicity. We're partners, right?"

She pushed forward a smile, ignoring the tears. "Partners."

. . .

**2015 - Outside the Foundry**

Felicity had eventually left the Foundry in order to let everyone read in peace. It was mostly because she didn't want to watch Oliver's face as he read it. She knew that Roy and Sara would be on their way back soon, same with Diggle, but Sara had already read it...that still left Roy and Diggle though. As much as she felt better about things, she was still nervous. Things were changing and she felt like they were already changing quickly.

She looked down at the ring on her hand. Felicity still didn't know what to think about that. Hope maybe? She knew that now everything could change because of the letters, the pictures, the locket, and the rings. Change was what they needed, but she hoped that it wouldn't change TOO much. Felicity really thought that being Felicity Queen might be nice...not because of anything except for the fact that she loved Oliver.

Was love enough?

She liked to think so.

The pictures had shown two happy and loving looking people...and those children. They were beautiful and happy. Felicity really hadn't thought about kids or being a mother. Not in a really long time. Now she found herself thinking about it.

A family.

One of her very own.

Something so normal.

Normal.

Felicity sometimes missed normal.

"Felicity?"

She turned around and found Oliver standing there. "I just needed air."

"Are you okay?"

Nodding for a moment, she smiled briefly, and then shook her head. "I honestly...I honestly don't know…"

"Yeah, me too."

Felicity moved towards him and held out her hand, he took it. "But we'll get through it together."

Oliver nodded. "Yes." He held up his other hand and from it, the locket fell from his palm. It bounced as the chain length fully unwound from his hold. "I know that this is so much for you, Felicity, but you are the Oracle… OUR Oracle."

"I-I never thought of myself as someone who would have a name like that," Felicity admitted with a small smile. Maybe Sara was right. Maybe it was sort of cool. Now even Roy had a name, he was Arsenal. She and Diggle were the only ones without one.

His hand dropped from her and he held the chain now with both hands. "I think it's time that you embrace the name," Oliver told her and put the necklace over her head and didn't release it until it settled around her neck. He pushed her hair away and just smiled.

Felicity looked down, her hand cupping the locket as she stared at it. He'd put it on backwards, so that it read 'Oracle'.

"Maybe there's a reason why it has two sides."

"Two lives," she told him as she looked back up at him.

. . .

TBC…


End file.
